Welcome To The Show
by HyalineReverie
Summary: A gifted Priestess and an ambitious bandit, travelling together to bring justice to the Kings' murderer and deliver peace... Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Wrong. Welcome to the show, of faith and lust, deceit and love - and a world filled with wonders!
1. Put me down!

_**Author's Notes:**__ Ok, so I am expecting that a lot of you want to throw flames and daggers at me for bringing out a NEW story when I have at least three that are on Haitus or just taking their sweet time to update… FORGIVE ME! I'm finding it a little difficult to find inspiration for 'So It's Not a Mummy This Time?' but I promise you, it will be updated soon…_

_This is my new story. I guarantee you will love it. Without a doubt. It's got adventure, romance, magic and a little swish of a new world so please give it a try because I promise by the fifth chapter you WILL BE HOOKED I am confident enough to say that. I have been doing it for the past week and really enjoyed creating it so I just kept going until today, when I started my new job. I hope you will let me know if I'm wrong and you DO actually despise it! Cheers loves._

_-0-_

The sunset rain hammered down upon the poor girl as she wandered hopelessly through the silent forest. Golden rays of a tired sun shone through and cast dapples on her muddy, tear-stained face, while attempting to warm her chilled body; all she wore was a long, white dress (now stained and tattered) and some sandals. Her long, red hair was half-pulled into a disarray of curls and twists but it was wet, scruffy and limp with no usual glow or bounce. The girls' hazel eyes were filled with misery and fear as she marched on through the woodlands, stepping over branches, mushrooms and ponds and dipping underneath tree arms, vines and curved trunks.

"_Run, Faye!" _

"_Cease her!"_

"_Murderer!"_

The girl came to a quick halt and leant against the damp, mossy trunk of a nearby tree; her pained eyes closed momentarily as her mind flooded with voices and screams. They echoed to her, scratching her memories. She couldn't lose them.

"_Look at what you have done!"_

"_You killed him, Faye!"_

"_Catch her!"_

The redhead, Faye, let out a small sob and brought her hands to her pale face in sorrow. Emotions rushed through her and caused her knees to become weak; she had to sit down and, perhaps, find some shelter from this freezing rain? Her sobs merged with the pattering of the rain as she slowly moved around the large tree to find comfort beneath its branches. All she wanted was to forget everything, if just for a moment. But as the young woman went to perch herself on the ground, her foot suddenly slipped between a covering of bushes and her entire body was sent tumbling sideways from lack of balance. Faye found herself whizzing down a muddy, watery slide in the hillside which was hidden away by the greenery with flowers and bushes flashing past her face. It all happened so fast that Faye had only comprehended the end of her surprise journey when she felt her body immerse in water and her access of oxygen disappear. Kicking her arms and legs, she pushed herself upwards and broke the surface to inhale a large breath and wipe her eyes free to look around her. What she found certainly wasn't what she had expected…

"Well, well," A man chuckled from beside his horse, "look what dropped in to say hello."

Faye bobbed on the surface of the average sized pool and just blinked up at the group of three men apprehensively, not knowing what to do. They all appeared older than her and wore dark clothes with hooded capes and boots and their horses were strapped with sacks of supplies and weapons; one sack revealed the tip of a golden candlestick poking out and Faye deduced who they were - bandits. The man who spoke smiled curiously and walked to the edge of the pool, where he crouched down to earn himself a closer look at the girl. As he studied her, and their eyes locked, his eyes seemed to soften - almost unnoticeably - and Faye feared it was because he had recognised her… but no… he didn't.

"She put a spell on you, Kian?" One of his bandit friends snorted.

At hearing his friends' mockery, Kian blinked a few times before pushing aside whatever strange feelings had just stirred within him. This was just a poor, simple girl who had luckily fallen right into their hands. Sighing, he rose to his full height once more and placed his hands on his hips authoritatively. He had fluffy brown hair, pulled into a tiny ponytail, with a bandana wrapped around his head and his ocean green eyes were beautiful to Faye in such wicked, gloomy times. He was tall, muscular, and handsomely tanned from long adventures in the sunshine, unlike Faye.

"Come on then," He sighed to Faye, "out you get."

Faye remained bobbing in the water where she was and just stared at him worriedly. Kian arched a weary eyebrow at her and then looked to his friends behind him, who snickered and nodded. Suddenly, they were both marching down into the water and coming for Faye with their large, grubby hands and dirty grins. Faye gasped and attempted to back away, but she was soon blocked in by the walls of the small waterfall around her. One of the men, bald and smelly, grabbed her wrist and the other, blonde and toothless, took her forearm.

"No!" Faye gasped at them, "unhand me!"

The two men restraining her laughed lightly and looked up at Kian, who stood on the bank as he watched in silence.

"Unhand me, she says!" The bald, chubby man scoffed, "who'd you take yourself for - the Queen?"

He laughed with his blonde bandit friend and the two of them continued to drag Faye back towards the earthy land where Kian waited. Faye opposed their force with all her might, alas, to no prevail. They were too strong for her. As she staggered up onto the grassy bank Kian's eyes lingered on her body as her wet and slightly transparent white dress clung to her slim body, highlighting her curves and nipples. At once, he returned to his horse where he whipped out a warm, heavy cloak.

"Stop it!" Faye screamed at the men, "you have no right!"

The blond brute laughed in her face and Faye nearly vomited from the stench of his stale breath, but instead, her instincts acted out and she kneed him hard between his thighs. His eyes almost popped out of his head, groaning, and he slowly slumped down onto the floor in agony while his chubby friend just laughed at his misfortune. Faye, now tearful and panicked, turned away to make a quick escape and bumped straight into the front of Kian and the cloak he had outstretched in his firm hands.

Faye gasped, freezing, and looked up at him with her frightened and inquisitive eyes. He didn't seem as mean and rough as the other two - he seemed different. There was something in his eyes that showed Faye of his humanity and grace.

"Put this on," Kian told her, offering the cloak, "you'll catch a cold."

Faye's eyebrows lowered in confusion and resistance as she studied the cloak, as if it were a trick.

"You're coming with us now," Kian informed her calmly, "you may as well take it, or freeze."

Still, Faye didn't accept his offer; if she took that cloak, it meant she would be admitting defeat. She was going to stand her ground. No one could simply kidnap her! Kian finally lost his patience and decided to wrap the cloak around Faye without her permission and, despite her struggling, he then managed to lift her up and fold her over his shoulder.

"Stop!" Faye screamed, hitting his back with her fists, "put me down! How dare you!"

"Sorry, red," Kian sighed to her, "I don't make the world the way it is."

He folded her over his horse on her stomach and just as Faye was about to shoot back up again, he had saddled behind her and pushed her back down again. Faye was stuck, trapped - stolen.

"Come on, you two," Kian grunted to his foolish friends, "we need to get to Ridian before nightfall."

His two bandit friends had been in the midst of a clumsy wrestle on the floor, no doubt after his injured friend grew angry with the other for laughing at his pain. Ignoring Kian only made him angry and he removed a copper coin from one of the sacks on his saddle and threw it at the back of his fat friends' bald head.

"Oi!" The man shot round to glare at Kian, "what was that for?"

"Get on your horse, little fat man," Kian sighed tonelessly, "we're going."

With that, Kian nudged his grey horse with his heavy boot and started trotting onwards through the forest with Faye folded over his lap. She watched the grass and flowers dash past and tried to ignore the threat of dizziness and nausea as her body bounced about at such an awkward angle. What was going to happen to her? Could she have faith in the spirit she saw in Kians' eyes, or was he just as wicked as most men in the world?


	2. I have three options

"Please let me up!" Faye exclaimed to her captive.

Kian didn't even glance at her as he raced across the bridge. Below, was at least 120 foot of nothingness before a wild rapid waited like a set of hungry teeth.

Faye struggled a little, "I'll be sick!"

Sighing, Kian rolled his eyes and grabbed Faye by the back of her neck in order to yank her upwards, where she could rest in a sideways sitting position. He wrapped his arms around her sides, securing her as he held onto the reins. Faye rubbed her eyes and swallowed as she digested the change of balance; the blood slowly drained from her head and she felt herself relaxing. But it was then, up ahead, she spotted the Town of Ridian awaiting them at the end of the rope bridge. Two guards stood either side of the exit holding spears with long, ruthless blades running along the end of them. They wore beige uniform with small fur hats and welcomed Kian with anything but friendliness.

"Hold there!" They hollered as Kian brought his horse to a slow trot.

They pointed their blades at them and Faye leant back, pressing into Kians' hard chest. The two other bandits came to halt behind them.

"We are merchants from the Kingdom of Uralia. We come on terms of business, to bring goods to your town." Kian spoke professionally.

The two guards subtly glanced at each other to deliberate between themselves. Kian waited patiently until, finally, they withdrew their spears and stood aside to grant them entry. With a nod, Kian nudged his horse and broke out into another heavy gallop along the dirt road that led them through the stone walls and into the busy town were people swarmed the market stalls consisting of foods, clothes, accessories and tools. Faye even noticed a stunning snow tiger, poorly trapped in an iron cage with customers watching and giggling curiously at the frightened creature; Faye frowned in disapproval, but she was soon distracted by more sights and colours of the town. She had heard stories about Ridian, being the most successful place for tradesman and entertainment, but never had the pleasure of actually seeing it.

Kian pulled his horse to a slow walk and eventually stopped outside an old tavern called The Buck, which was tall with white windows and a blue-brick roof covered in moss. He dismounted his horse and instantly turned to offer Faye a helping hand. She refused it.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, red." He warned her, holding his hand up higher to her.

"My name isn't red. It's Faye." She growled at him.

Faye didn't want to take his hand, but his words sparked another wave of worry inside her. She was helpless against him. And so, sighing to herself, she sadly took his hand and allowed him to lift her down from the back of his gracious horse and set her upon her damp feet.

Kian looked down at her, rather cockily, "That wasn't so hard now, was it."

Faye just sent him an angry stare before tearing her gaze away and wrapping her arms around her torso, feeling particularly weak and self-conscious. When the other two bandits arrived, they also jumped down from their horses and tied the reigns to the stump outside one of the tavern's windows.

"Tevo," Kian turned to his blonde friend, "find out when the next bid starts. Gus, fetch the horses some food and water."

Gus, the plump bandit, grimaced a little, "Why do I always have to deal with the horses?"

Kian arched an amused eyebrow, "Because they like you."

With that, Kian turned away, grabbing Faye tightly by the wrist, and walked over to the entrance doors of The Buck, leaving Gus rather irritated and Tevo chuckling under his breath once again. Inside The Buck, it was quite busy either with customers drinking at the bar or eating a steaming dinner at tables. The sun had nearly completely set and so the fire was roaring in the far corner of the wooden building and people were preparing to settle for the night. Faye avoided looking anyone directly in the eye as she was dragged along behind Kian to the front desk where a woman stood, cleaning some glasses.

"Greetings," He spoke charmingly, "I need three rooms for tonight."

The chubby blonde woman sighed in boredom, not looking up, "Ten Vils, please."

Kian reached underneath his cloak and pulled free a small sack which had been tied in place; opening it, he loaded out the coins into his large palm and counted out the required amount of silver coins to give to the woman. Faye watched silently as she turned, fetching three copper keys, and slapped them onto the wooden counter in exchange for the money.

"Upstairs, first right, you'll see em." The woman explained carelessly.

Kian asked the woman to inform his two friends - "_an ugly blonde man with no teeth and another fat, short bald man who smelt of rotten cabbage" _- of his arrival and to send them up. She agreed with a vague nod before turning away to stock up his money in the till. Kian, still holding Faye, turned, striding across the warm room.

"What are you going to do with me?" Faye whispered as she skipped to keep up with his pace.

"I haven't decided yet." Kian casually answered, moving through the archway of the next hall.

Faye looked up at him fearfully, "Well, what are your options?"

Kian reached the stairway where he stopped and pushed Faye in front of him. He was evidently still being cautious in case she attempted to escape. Faye turned to face him, in question, as she stood on the first step.

"I have three options. One, I could either sell you to a lonely high-bidder," Kian titled his head as he considered the idea, "two, I could sell you to work. Or… three, I could just keep you for myself."

Faye didn't like any of them at all. Her eyes swelled with terror and any pathetic colour which had once existed in her cheeks had immediately washed away. But Kian seemed to be enjoying her fear, as if teasing her on purpose.

"You…-" Faye was rather speechless, "-why?"

Kian was rather struck by her innocent and naïve reaction. Why? It was as if this girl had been hidden away from all the reality of the cruel, greedy world. She looked like a sweet child who had been totally untainted.

Kian almost smiled in amusement, "Why? Well, because… a man has to eat. You'll sell for a fine price."

Faye shook her head sadly, "Why can you not simply let me go? I did nothing to harm you…"

"It's a tough world, red," Kian studied her with interest, "another man's loss is another man's gain."

Faye just stared at him like he had egg all over his face. Kian realised that he wasn't communicating any kind of message to the girl - she was either a complete moron, or totally pure. Tutting with irritation, Kian nudged her and forced her to move up the steps by walking forwards and pushing her onwards.

"Alright, come on, move," Kian sighed, "I didn't kidnap you to teach you the ways of life."

Faye hastily jumped up the stairs with Kian right behind her. He guided her right and soon found the three rooms they had paid for, being the only vacant rooms in that specific hallway. Kian opened the door and gently pushed Faye inside before closing the door and locking it. He then began to remove his cloak and waist-coat, alarming Faye.

"W-what are you doing?" She gasped, backing away from him.

Kian looked at her with a smirk, "Ahh… So you _do _know a little bit about the real world."

Kian slowly approached her as he begun to untie the strings of his grey, fluffy shirt, revealing his smooth chest. Faye felt herself hit the wall and pushed herself back into it, praying that it would swallow her up and save her. Her heart raced.

"S-stay back," Faye pointed at him fearfully, "I mean it!"

Kian stopped before her with just inches between them. Another step forwards and they would have been touching. Faye, breathing heavily, gulped up at Kian and stared hard into his eyes to search for that promising humanity she had spotted earlier - it was still there, shining back at her, whispering for her not to be frightened. As he stood over her, Faye started to feel the warmth emitting from his body beneath his damp clothes and her heart beat eased.

"Aren't you afraid anymore?" Kian teased her, his handsome lips pouting in amusement.

Faye narrowed her confused eyes, studying his face and the golden flecks in his eyes. He, too, noticed the sparks of green in her hazel pools. There really wasn't any stain in this girls' spirit - she was completely beautiful, in a strange way. Kian had never seen it in anyone before.

"Not of you," Faye finally whispered, in all honesty, "your eyes are true."

Smirking and shaking off her touching words, Kian leant towards her and Faye quickly stiffened in anticipation - had she been wrong about him? What was he going to do next? However, to her relief, Kian had merely been reached behind her to collect the firelighters which sat upon the end of the mantelpiece beside her shoulders. Kian showed them to her, raising his eyebrows arrogantly.

"Don't be so sure of that," Kian tossed them in his hand once, "I may surprise you."

Faye held his gaze, feeling his hot breath stroke against her cheeks and return some colour to them. It was like Kian had created an outer shell to hide away his true self from the world. But Faye could see it.

"Now," Kian turned away from her, breaking the heated moment between them, "you be a good little captured girl and wait here, quietly, is that clear?"

Faye stepped forwards anxiously, "Where are you going?"

Kian smirked to himself, feeling a little flattered at how clingy she had become already. It was rather funny, actually - surely the victim, the captured, would want to be as far away from their captive as possible?

"Man needs food," Kian comically spoke with no tone, approaching the front door, "I might bring you some, if there's any left over."

Faye felt her stomach rumble at the mention of food. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten, since everything that had happened… Kian opened the door and turned to face Faye, where he suddenly tossed the firelighters into the air towards her; Faye's hand flew up and, in a small fumble, managed to clasp the two stones and pull them into her chest. Kian then wiggled the key at her in between his fingers.

"No trying to escape, now." He almost sang, giving her a wink.

Kian stepped out into the hallway and Faye instantly rushed towards him to object, but he had already pulled the door shut. Faye grabbed onto the iron handle and gave it a desperate yank - but the sound of the lock clicking confirmed that she was too late. She listened to Kian's heavy footsteps thudding down the hallway until they vanished into silence and the impact of Faye's reality kicked in once more.

Turning around, she sorrowfully wandered over to the wide window sill and sat upon it as she peered out, down onto the busy market filled with voices and scents. It was beautiful, yes, but Faye knew that her fate would be in the hands of greed.


	3. It was perfect

The night stars twinkled in the sky and the glorious moon shone her effervescent love down upon the Temples of Luahth, igniting the white stone in brilliant silver light. The whispers of the waves crashing against the sandy beaches could be heard, even two miles away where a man stood upon the balcony of his glorious palace. He was deep in thought, his eyes closed and his tough hands resting upon the stone ledge before him, his ears listening to the spirits in the wind. It was glorious…

"Zazell…" A man's voice interrupted.

The elder man, Zazell, snapped his eyes open and turned to see who had spoilt his meditation, but upon recognising the young man he decided to forgive and forget. Zazell was in his late forties, with curled greying hair and blue eyes so fair that they could deceive anyone. He wore a long, blue and golden robe and his fingers were covered in jewelled rings and his wrists and neck in gold.

"Junyas," Zazell greeted him, opening his arms, "good evening."

The young, brown haired man walked into his arms and shared a gentle hug with the larger man. Junyas wore a beige and blue chiton which hung easily from his body and he, also, wore the odd jewellery on his finger and around his neck. Junyas leant back from Zazell and, before speaking, glanced around them warily.

"Relax, Junyas," Zazell smiled darkly, "we're alone. Tell me what the people are saying."

Junyas nodded, relaxing, though he still appeared nervous, "The people are confused. They are finding it hard to believe that their precious Priestess could be capable of such a crime."

Zazell sneered, turning to the night sky again, "They will, soon enough. If we acted the exact plan we discussed, all evidence should point to her."

"And it does, your greatness," Junyas bowed his head slightly, "She came in just at the right time and even held him, covering herself with his blood… What more could be needed? It was perfect."

Zazell inhaled a deep, thoughtful breath before speaking, "The people are weak. They are filled with mercy - mercy is for cowards. They don't want to believe that their Priestess is a murderer… But I shall make them."

"How?" Junyas shook his head, nervous, "what else is there?"

Zazell smiled wickedly, "Love. My love. I shall help them to see. As will you."

Junyas swallowed. He was obviously a little unnerved by their situation and the paranoia was rising inside of him.

"You and the Priestess were in love, wed," Zazell, "and I am her devoted Uncle, whose shoulder my sister sobs upon every night since the death of her husband. We are the new praise of Luahth, the new love. We shall steal their hearts and make them trust us."

Junyas' eyes fell to the floor, smirking vaguely. Zazell always had an answer or a solution to any predicament.

"Where do you think she fled?" Junyas then asked, looking up once more.

Zazell narrowed his eyes at Junyas, almost in suspicion. He slowly turned to face the young, handsome Prince-to-be and lifted his chin as he studied him; Junyas blinked unsurely.

"If I were to ask you, Junyas," Zazell quietly spoke, "if you accidentally… acquired… any feelings for the Priestess… what would you say?"

Junyas released a light snicker, "Zazell, are you hearing yourself? I- I can assure you, with the greatest of gales and the deepest of oceans!"

Zazell just stared at him, unconvinced. Junyas quickly took up one of Zazells' powerful hands and clutched it in both of his, looking at him with as much honesty as he could muster.

"The Priestess means absolutely nothing to me. She was a piece on our chessboard, nothing else. And our plan is working. No matter where she is." Junyas breathed out eagerly.

Zazell finally accepted his words and, in response, lifted his rings to Junyas' lips so that he could kiss them respectfully. He then tore his hand away quite abruptly and Junyas watched him approach the balcony edge to stare up at the moon excitedly.

"The location of the Priestess is irrelevant," Zazell spoke in delight, "no one would recognise her. So long as she doesn't return before we can win the hearts of her people, everything will go as planned."

Zazell then turned to Junyas and smiled a wicked, cruel smile as dark as the devils' eyes.

"Priestess Faye shall be dead to them all…" He hissed.

Meanwhile, in a tavern called The Buck in a town several miles from the Temples of Luahth, an exhausted redhead lay snoozing on a window sill with a blanket covering her body. The room was now arm, thanks to the crackling fire, and nightfall shed a blanket of stars over the town of Ridian.

"Who d'you think she is?" Tevo asked, tearing at his leg of lamb.

Kian chewed on a small nut as he studied the sleeping face of Faye; she looked so peaceful and delicate.

Kian shook his head, "I haven't a clue."

"Maybe she ran away from home?" Gus suggested, before gulping down some ale.

"Maybe…" Kian agreed, though he wasn't sure.

"I reckon we'd get a bloody good price for her at the auction," Gus spoke again after having swallowed, "look at her hair! Never seen hair like that before."

"Her breed is thought to be extinct," Kian spoke, more to himself than the other two, "but evidently… they're not."

"You knew that?" Tevo stared at Kian angrily, "you knew how rare she was but didn't bother to tell us?"

Kian rolled his eyes, "There's lots of things I choose not to tell you."

"So we sell her!" Gus shook his fist excitedly, "sell her n' run home laughing!"

Kian didn't say anything. He drew his eyes away from the sleeping beauty and onto the fire as he battled with his head and his heart. He knew, deep down, that this girl was far too precious to simply sell off to a lonely pervert with the largest wallet, but he would be a fool not to take up the opportunity.

"We'll decide in the morning," Kian faked a yawn, "I'm tired. Go away."

Standing up, Kian walked to his bed and sat down to calmly remove his boots. Tevo and Gus, glancing at each other, just shrugged and left the room with the rest of their food and beer. As Kian was about to climb into the bed he looked over at Faye and sighed in annoyance. Why was he feeling so damn sorry for her?

"This's why I hate women." Kian grunted to himself.

Kian got up and walked over to Faye where he carefully picked her up into his large arms and carried her back over to the bed. He set her down and made sure to pull the blanket over her and keep her warm. Kian told himself it was to maintain her health and freshness for the auctions tomorrow… but he was kidding himself. He just couldn't stop himself from wanting to take care of Faye, even after only having known her for a few hours. She was different.


	4. Men are animals

Faye awoke the next morning feeling surprisingly fresh and well rested, despite remembering the awful nightmares that filled her dreams. When she cracked her eyes open and found herself lying in a bed, she was rather confused as to how she had gotten there at all. Faye sat up to look around the room and found a small tray of egg, ham and bred sitting on the bedside table with a large wooden cup of milk. What was all this about?

The door suddenly burst open and in walked Kian, followed by two beautiful tanned women with black curly hair wearing lovely dresses, giggling and blushing madly.

"Here she is, ladies," Kian looked to Faye, "do your best."

One of the women twisted her face in curiosity, "Why is her hair like that?"

"Redhead. Last of her kind." Kian informed her casually.

Faye's cheeks blushed madly, "Kian - what is this?"

Kian smirked, "I chose an option…"

He then nodded and left the room, leaving Faye alone with the two glamorous women who approached her with wiggling fingers and gleaming eyes. What were they going to do - kill her?… No, not quite. Instead, they bathed her, styled her hair so that it was half-pinned up, dressed her in a pastel-pink dress which hugged her body and stretched down to her feet and planted little flowers in her hair, while applying a light layer of lipstick.

"No, please"- Faye tried to object, "I don't like it!"

"Ah, but the men do!" The elder woman giggled, "your skin, it's so soft!"

Faye grunted, fidgeting as the women continued to pick and prod at her face and hair. It was awfully irritating! When they were finally finished, they held up a little mirror and showed Faye her face; it was quite a shock. Faye never wore makeup or styled her hair fashionably. She spent most of her days praying or studying in the Temples!

Faye gently touched her cheek in awe, "What is…"-

The door opened once more and Kian walked in, with Gus and Tevo trailing after him. The two woman stepped aside and Faye slowly lowered her mirror to look at Kian, clueless, careless.

"Is this your option?" Faye growled, furious, "to dress me up like a child's doll and _sell _me?"

Kian would usually had something witty to reply with but this time… his mind was blank. All he could focus on was how breath-taking Faye was in that dress. The makeup didn't suit her - he preferred her without it - but she was still glowing… Even with that sadness in her eyes and the furrowing of her furious eyebrows, she looked like an angel.

"Kian?" Faye jumped up and rushed towards him, "are you listening?"

Kian blinked a few times and realised that he had just missed a huge chunk of Fayes' talking. The women were now making their way towards the door while Tevo and Gus were exchanging odd looks with each other - what was happening to their leader?

"Please," Faye whimpered, "don't do this to me…"

Absolutely desperate, she raised her hands and gently placed them upon his chest to emphasise how helpless she was. Her eyes sparkled with tears and managed to capture Kian, just for a moment.

"Come on, Kian," Gus awkwardly called him, "there's two girls left to go."

Faye tried to hold Kians' eyes for as long as she could, searching madly for the warmth, for the humanity. It was still there - so why was he acting like such an animal? Kian finally tore his eyes away, sighing, and grabbed Faye by her upper arm.

Kian didn't look at her, "Don't make this difficult."

Faye's eyes filled with tears and her heart sank into her stomach. She had, at last, lost all hope for mankind. Not only had her own family and loved ones turned against her, but also people who had such potential to be loving and pure. With her head low, Faye allowed Kian to lead her downstairs and out into the street of Ridian where the market was still as busy as ever. People sent Faye looks of interest, surprise and admiration as they passed but Faye took no notice. She was terrified.

"Sold, to the gentleman in the red coat for thirty Vils!" The auctioneer roared to the crowed.

The audience applauded and whistled as the pretty blonde girl was escorted from the wooden platform, the stage, and back to where some other girls stood. They were all dressed up, looking beautiful in their dresses, though most of them were crying or had been as their faces were blotchy and smeared in damaged makeup. Upon seeing the girls and the auction, Faye stopped walking and tried to resist against Kians' strong grip.

"Come on." Kian grunted.

Faye looked up at him, grabbing his arm, "I don't want to! You can't do this!"

Kian, still, refused to look into her eyes, "Money is money, red… I'm sorry."

Gus and Tevo came up behind her and grabbed her by her arms, forcing her to walk on without Kian; he watched in a strange denial of guilt as they led her over to where the auction assistants stood, waiting for them.

"Please, no!" Faye cried, stealing the attention of nearby people, "unhand me!"

"Ohh, a fiesty one hey?" One of the male assistants chuckled, "I like 'em fiesty."

He suddenly slapped his hand onto Faye's bottom and squeeze her left cheek quite roughly, making her jump and whirl around to whack him hard in the face. The other auctioned girls were now watching both in fear and hope for Faye's escape; Kian watched silently, knowing he was acting weak. But money was money, wasn't that more important? Living a good life with all the things a rich man would want?

"Get up there!" The assistant growled furiously, yanking Faye by her neck.

He threw her into the small gathering of girls who all gasped and helped Faye stand properly; Kian clenched his fists at seeing her being treated so roughly.

"Damnit," Kian turned away in difficulty, "get a hold of yourself, Kian. Get over it!"

Faye spotted him standing a few feet away from the stage, mumbling to himself. What a bastard. What a cruel, selfish, toxic _thing_. She had certainly been wrong about him.

"Are you alright?" One of the girls asked sweetly.

Faye looked round and saw the blonde-haired girl who had just been sold; she had tear stains down her cheeks, and although she presented Faye with an encouraging little smile, it was cracked and broken like their faith.

Faye frowned at her, "Why are they doing this?"

Another woman, a brunette, snickered rudely, "Wake up, little miss angel. Men are animals."

Faye glanced at her; she was older than them, with less to offer, and there was plenty of misery and anger in her eyes. She had been through a lot of sadness in her life, Faye could tell…

"Alright, you're next!" One of the auction assistants called.

Faye felt him grab onto her arm and was roughly pulled up onto the stage where she nearly tripped over her own dress; at seeing the audience, she froze in a half-crouch with her hair falling around her face. She was terrified. Men started to talk amongst themselves or just gape up at her while other women gasped, pointed and giggled at the colour of her hair. The auction assistant grabbed Faye by the shoulders and pulled her up into a straight, standing position so that she could be presented clearly to the buyers.

"A rare beauty, the last of her kind!" The old auctioneer shouted enthusiastically, "let us begin with ten Vils!"

"Fifteen!"

"Twenty!"

"Twenty five!"

"Thirty!"

"Thirty five!"

Faye's eyes darted left and right as she watched hands shooting into the air and voice after voice call out a higher number. It was happening all so fast! The auctioneer let out laughs of excitement as she price continued to rise, and rise, and rise-

"Two hundred Vils!" A man finally cried out.

"Sold, for two hundred Vils to the man with the ponytail!" The auctioneer exclaimed in huge delight.

Faye felt like sobbing her heart out. That was it. Done. She now _belonged _to someone - a person - not even the Gods. Her mind went blank and all she could do was stare at the floor, empty, as she was dragged off of the stage to be thrown in with the women once again.

"Two hundred…" She heard the women whispering in shock, "never…"

Faye instantly stared to cry and covered her face with her hands, as if it would make her disappear from the world; she used to do it when she was a child. Within minutes, Faye and the other sold 'merchandise' were hustled out from behind the stage and were guarded by the assistant's as their new owners came to claim them with the bargained money at the ready. Faye's eyes stared at the ground in a heartbroken trance, unable to find the energy to fight back or speak her rights. She saw a pair of legs emerge from the crowed and, as they got closer, she thought she recognised the boots on the mans' feet.

"You owe me, red." A familiar voice sighed.

Faye finally found the reason to look up, in hope, and there was Kians' handsome face looking down at her; of course, "the gentleman with the ponytail". It was Kian. He had bought her!

Faye's heart swelled with joy, "Kian…"

Kian shook the small sack, filled with money, and handed it over to the auction assistant (who now wore a red bruising on his cheek from where Faye had hit him). Kian recognised it at once.

"Excuse me," Kian called the man, who looked up, "just one more thing."

And then, Kian threw one of his own swift punches of vengeance that collided into the opposite cheek of the assistant, causing him to spin around once before collapsing onto the floor. Some people nearby gasped and yelped at the outrageous behaviour but it didn't phase Kian in the slightest. Faye watched, jaw hanging, as Kian subtly scooped up his money and returned it into his cloak where it was safe.

"You shouldn't treat a lady in such a manner." Kian spoke down to the half-conscious assistant.

Faye, not bothered by the fact that Kian had just acted so violently, stepped over the assistant on the floor to reach Kian. She smiled up at his face in a dreamy type of awe, of gratitude and relief. She _had _been right about him.

Kian shrugged coolly, trying not to reveal that Faye's actions were effecting him at all. Naturally, he couldn't be happier that she was back with him again.

"I guess I made the wrong choice." Kian spoke, warmly and truthfully.

Faye's smile grew wider and even Kian cracked a tiny, sexy smile of his own.

"**AAHHHHHHH**!" A woman's awful scream interrupted them.

The town all looked over to where the scream had come from just in time to see that beautiful, white snow-tiger run out into the road with blood around its mouth. Its yellow eyes were wild and wicked and its tail swished playfully as it studied its playground of prey.

Kian grabbed Faye's arm at once, "Stay close… don't run, it'll only chase us."

Faye did exactly as Kian advised, although everyone else had other intensions. Seconds passed before the town burst into chaos and people started running for their lives, shrieking into the air, crashing into each other and acting barbaric in order to escape from the ferocious tiger. It was mayhem.


	5. Witch!

A man bulleted past Kian and caused him to crash forwards, into Faye, and the two of them tumbled to the floor behind the wooden platform stage with the wooden pillars all around them. Kian brought Faye up onto her knees and shuffled behind one of the towns' tapestries which had been tied up against the pillars with the Kingdom's emblem upon it; they watched the snow tiger slowly prowling through the road, watching people rushing past and screaming madly.

"Stay quiet," Kian whispered anxiously, his eyes focused on the creature, "no sudden movements."

A woman ran past the vegetable stall and, at seeing the tiger, literally leapt onto the vegetables and caused the entire stall to collapse and fall out into the tigers' path; the tiger, alarmed, leapt over it and nearly fell over its own feet in its frightened scare. But this fear soon turned into anger and it powerfully leapt atop of a passing randomer and tore their head off in between its jaws. Faye had to look away at once.

"Ok," Kian looked to Faye, "it's distracted, let's go."

Faye nodded and briskly scurried towards the exit on the other side of the stage, Kian right behind her. Faye had just pulled herself onto her feet when, to her surprise, she saw the bloody snout of the lion glide into view from around the tapestry. Gasping, she jumped back and bumped into Kian, who looked past her curiously; there stood the tiger, staring straight at them both.

Kian slowly moved his arm across Fayes' chest and was about to gingerly pull her behind him for protection when the snow tiger released a mighty roar, causing them both to jump back in a startle and trip over each other onto the floor. The snow tiger started walking towards them and Kian anxiously fumbled about for his dagger as they both shuffled out into the road behind them.

Kian stood up at once and pulled Faye behind him so that he could point his large dagger at the tiger, which was now only ten feet away from them. Faye looked past Kians' shoulder, directly into the yellow pools of the feline, and smiled gently. The tiger stopped growling. Kian was beyond flabbergasted when he felt Faye push past him.

"Stop!" Kian exclaimed, "what're you"-

The tiger released a warning roar, but it was aimed only at Kian, as if to silence him. Kian couldn't believe what he was seeing - nor could anyone else who observed from their hiding places. Faye slowly stepped out towards the tiger and, bowing her head somewhat, she lifted her hands out in front of her and slowly waved them towards the ground. Her eyes held the lions', pouring warmth into it, telling it to be at peace.

Kian's dagger dropped to the ground in absolute wonder as he watched the 150 pound feline obediently lower down, as if bowing to Faye. Soon, it was lying down completely with Faye standing over it, her palms facing its body. Faye slowly lowered down onto her knees and moved her hands down onto tigers' bloody face, closing her eyes and breathing placidly. The tiger was frightened; she could feel it.

"H-how did you do that?" Kian stuttered, unsure what to say or think.

Faye opened her eyes and looked at him in concern, "It's frightened. It just wants to go home."

Kian stared, wide-eyed, "R-really…"

Faye returned her attention to the tiger on the floor and stroked its head lovingly. She felt so sorry for the creature - it was only acting out of instinct. It was scared, not evil.

"Go," Faye whispered, standing up, "go home."

She waved her hands, and at once, the tiger stood up and looked around uncertainly. Faye moved away, cautiously, and returned to her position beside Kian.

Faye waved her hands upwards again, "Go home! You're free!"

The tigers' ears twitched. Then, it turned, and broke out into an elegant gallop down through the town in the direction of the bridge. Kian was still rather speechless and Faye was now more concerned about the hundreds of people who had just witnessed her using her Gift…

Kian, licking his lips, turned to Faye with a burdened expression. It took him a couple of seconds to actually decide what to say.

"Can you tell me what you just did?" He straightforwardly asked, "because… I've never seen anything like _that_."

Faye nibbled her bottom lip as more and more people bravely came out from wherever they had been hiding; they were all now coming towards Faye, staring at her with whispers and gossips spreading like the plague. Faye knew she had made a huge mistake, but it was worth it for the sake of that creatures' life.

"Faye?" Kian called her impatiently.

"Kian…" Faye nervously shifted behind Kian, "we should go…"

Kian looked away from Faye, finally, and noticed all of the people who had gathered around them. Some looked amazed, while others were still crying or now glaring at Kian and Faye furiously; he moved his hands behind his back and grabbed onto Fayes' arms protectively. He knew what was going to happen already.

"What did she do?" A distraught woman cried through her tears, "what did that _witch _do?"

Her bold words caused a stir in the crowed and the whispers grew louder, into voices, and many people started shaking their heads in agreement. Kian's apprehensive eyes watched them all as his lips hung agape, waiting for some wise words to come out.

"She did this to us!" Another man hollered, pointing at Faye.

"She didn't want to be sold like the slave she is!"

"It's her fault!"

"Witch!"

"Murderer!"

Tears filled in Fayes' eyes as their words stung at her heart; they sounded just like the people back at her home who believed her to be so evil. Murderer, they called her. It was her fault.

"Please!" Kian held his hands up peacefully, "this is all a misunderstanding!"

"I saw her with my own eyes!" A woman screamed, "she cursed us!"

"No," Kian chuckled nervously, "let's not be hasty…"

"Witch! Witch! Witch!" People started to shout, waving their fists in the air.

Faye squeezed Kians' hands behind his back and pressed her face into his shoulder to try and escape; her mother always told her, never to use her Gift in front of people. Now, she knew why. They wouldn't understand, but only be frightened.

"Kian!" Gus' voice blared through the aggressive shouting.

Kian looked up to see Gus and Tevo galloping towards them on their horses; Gus was holding the reigns of Kians' grey horse, which was running along side them. They stopped in front of them, their horses circling excitedly, and Kian immediately picked Faye up by her waist and sat her atop of the saddle.

"Get them!"

"They murdered my husband!"

"Witches!"

The townspeople charged towards them just as Kian jumped up, straddling the saddle, and he kicked his horse in the side to communicate the level of speed they would need; Faye would have fallen off if Kian hadn't been sitting behind her with his arms around her. Faye and her new bandit friends raced past the townspeople, amazingly dodging the stones and sticks and vegetables being thrown their way, and headed back towards the bridge where safety would be.

Kian shouted to Faye in the wind, "So - are you going to tell me what that was all about?"

Faye slightly turned her head, "No!"

Kian pulled in his lips in annoyance and sarcasm, "Great!"

He nudged his horse in the side once more and its speed picked up, like an eagle floating above the clouds. Faye enjoyed the sensation of the cool breeze floating through her hair; she wiped the makeup from her face with her dress and appreciated how much difference it made. Her skin didn't feel so heavy and blocked.

"Where are we going?" Faye called back to Kian.

"Home!" Kian replied, "there's someone I want you to meet!"

Faye froze a little, "You're not going to try and sell me again, are you?"

Kian chuckled, "Relax, red! You're mine now!"

Somehow, for some reason, Faye didn't feel the dire need to object or defend her pride when Kian said this. Even though, obviously, she didn't _belong _to anyone, hearing Kian say it made her feel safe and protected - the warmth she felt from his words gave her faith about everything. Smiling bashfully to herself, Faye relaxed against Kian and hoped that he wouldn't notice just how comfortable she was in his arms…

She stayed that way for the remainder of their journey. It was a long one, and the sun moved many inches in the sky before they could see their destination in the distance. It looked like some sort of colourful cave - a huge dome on the horizon.

"What _is _that?" Faye shouted, pointing with her arm outstretched.

Kian smiled to himself, "Home!"

"What kind of a home is that?" Faye was intrigued but stunned.

"You'll see!" Kian chuckled, glancing at her.

The expression on her face was beautiful - her eyes sparkled in wonder and her gentle, plump lips were curved in a suspicious tingle. Kian mentally scolded himself for thinking such weak things and quickly tore his eyes away. He couldn't be forming feelings for her, could he? Not so soon, surely! Kian always swore to himself that he never had time to grow attached to anyone. Life was too short and too dangerous.

Soon, they arrived at the 'colourful cave', which actually turned out to be a gigantic circus tent! It was incredible! As Kian helped her from his horse, Faye's jaw was hanging and her eyes couldn't stop exploring all of the colours around her. There were wooden wagons dotted all around the circus tent and music could be heard coming from one of the campsites nearby. A small dwarf waddled past smoking a cigar, and then a tall, gorgeous woman with a beard threw a bowel of water from the window of her wheeled wagon.

Faye took a couple of bewildered steps forward, "This is your home…?"

Kian smirked at her, "You like it?"

"It's… beautiful," Faye's eyes twinkled, overwhelmed, "I've never seen anything like it."

"Well," Kian walked over to her with a few sacks over his shoulders, "get used to it. You might be here for a while."

Faye blinked at registering his last comment and watched him, confused, as he walked towards the large circus tent decorated in stripes of yellow, white, orange and green. He disappeared through the curtained doorway and left her standing there in a deep thought over what he had exactly meant by 'for a while'…


	6. If you value your toes

"Marvellous!" Orvin released a galvanized laughed, "I don't know what to say…"

Faye leant up from the elephants' head to look at him, blinking slow and thinking apprehensively. Faye was now in a harsh phase of foreboding. What was going to happen now that she had revealed her 'gift'? Faye patted the elephants' face and it carefully lifted its grotesque body back up onto its feet as if nothing had happened at all. Orvin beckoned her with a despotic wave of his hand and, hesitating for a moment, Faye begrudgingly obeyed him and walked towards him with her hands locked and lips frowning.

Orvin grinned goldenly down at her, "How did you do that?"

Faye gallantly just glared up at him, her lips tight and unwilling; her insubordinate attitude most displeased Orvin and, taking a step toward her, he stared down at her like a cruel shadow that haunts children's nightmares.

"You will answer me, girl," Orvin spoke lowly, "how do you do it?"

Faye's nose wrinkled in distaste, "You treat my gift profanely. The Gods will not be happy."

Orvin threw his head back and laughed in amusement, his voice echoing around the tent; Faye glanced at Kian with all the virulence she could find and, faintly, she swore she had seen a flash of guilt in Kians' eyes. But no, this couldn't be right. Kian was only out to help himself.

"Don't lecture me about '_Gods_'," Orvin sighed to Faye once he had finished laughing, "there's only one thing in this world I believe in - me. Now tell me!"

Orvin grabbed Faye's shoulder and she winced out, her legs weakening beneath her; his grip was powerful and harsh. Kian's expression wiped clean as he watched her wriggle in pain.

"I-it's hard to explain!" She cried out breathlessly.

"Well try." Orvin grumbled.

"I've been able to do it since I was a child," Faye whimpered as she stood stiff and oblique, "I j-just sort of… feel… and send it to them!"

Orvin tilted his head inquisitively, "Feel?"

Faye blushed, feeling momentarily fatuous, "I told you, it's hard to explain! Please, let me go!"

"Tell me more." Orvin demanded, squeezing her shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Faye cried, almost buckling to the floor.

Kian stepped forwards impulsively, "You're going to break her shoulder, Orvin…"

Orvin snapped his eyes onto Kian, "And why do you care so much about her health and safety?"

"Because," Kian licked his lips, fluctuating in his confidence, "if you damage her, she won't be able to perform."

Orvin considered his reason for a second or so and finally released Faye, who crumpled onto her knees and grabbed her throbbing shoulder sadly, her face completely sunken and hair falling along it like curtains. Kian just stared down at her, not revealing any pity that he felt. It fell silent for a moment until Faye spoke again, breathless and meek.

"When I see animals, they just… fill me with life and faith," She whispered , pathos oozing from her tone, "and I give it back to them. They understand my spirit."

Kian and Orvin looked to each other to exchange amazed looks; this girl was a miracle. Orvin burst out into more gentle laughter to express his awe and, placing his hand on Kian's back, he patted him proudly and gratefully.

"You've done it again, Kian!" He praised him, "my devilish boy!"

He took a few steps away from Faye to discuss something with him in private and Faye was left to remain on the floor as they did, though her burning eyes bore holes in the side of Kian's face. Kian could feel her but decided to ignore it, for now.

"Give her decent accommodation," Orvin clapped Kian on the back for a final token of appreciation, "we can't have her all stiff and bruised from sleeping with the animals."

Nodding, Kian then approached Faye with a reserved look in his eyes and bent down to help her stand by grabbing her wrists. Faye, however, begun to object at once and felt her heart waltz again.

"N-no!" Faye stuttered nervously, "please! I can't stay! I have to get back home!"

Standing with Kian, her desperate eyes clung onto the back of Orvin with every last bit of hope. The giant tyrant continued walking away from them, hands locked behind his back comfortably.

"This is your new home." He cruelly called back to her.

Kian started leading her towards the entrance of the circus tent but Faye dug her feet into the sandy ground to rebel against his authority. She looked up at him, eyes watering and wild, and her body beginning to tremble.

"Kian, please!" She gasped, "I thought you were helping me?"

Kian just snickered faintly and refrained from looking into her eyes, or at her in total, to prevent any humane emotions and morals from intervening with his job. This wasn't about being a decent person, this was about surviving life.

"Orvin!" Faye cried out to Orvin, "please!"

But Orvin refused to answer her and Faye was suddenly outside again where the morning freshness kissed at her now tear-stained cheeks. She was in shock by this point and Kian found it an easy task to guide her across the grass path.

"I thought you… were my friend." Faye growled venomously.

Kian stared up ahead, "That was your presumption. I never once mentioned the word 'friend'."

Faye whipped her head up to glare at him, "How can you be so wicked?"

"I think of it more as ambitious. It's a dog-eat-dog world." Kian calmly recapitulated life.

Faye sneered, "You're nothing but a heartless mercenary. There are more things to life than money, you know!"

"Oh, like the Gods?" Kian snickered caustically.

"Yes," Faye lifted her tear-stained face proudly, "and faith, and love, and kindness. When you're old and alone, what will your money do for you then?"

Kian rolled his eyes, "Pipe down, red. Your words of wisdom might work on other bible-bashers, but not me."

Faye tugged her wrists but Kian held a firm grip on them, "You _have _to release me, Kian. You don't understand the severity of my situation!"

"And you evidently don't get mine!" Kian chuckled, "I need money. Without it, I'm a wandering bump living off bark and worms."

"That's all you deserve." Faye hissed quietly.

Kian just sent her a resentful look. The couple fell into an intense silence as Kian proceeded in forcing Faye towards her new prison through the colourful and captivating campsites. Small fires were scattered around the tents and wagons and men, women and children gathered around in groups, chatting and laughing whilst having some food or washing their clothing and cutlery. The majority of them appeared apparently mundane from Faye's distance, although she couldn't decide for sure. She half expected someone to stand up with an extra pair of arms or poke out a lizard tongue! The air was thick with delicious aromas from the fires and cooking pots hanging above them and faint music could be heard from around the campsite; a mandolin, tambourine and flute were three main instruments familiar to Faye's ears.

"Here you are." Kian announced, catching Faye's attention.

She brought herself to an abrupt halt upon seeing the large wooden wagon with colourful flowers painted on its wooden skin, along with a wind chime and dream catcher hanging above the side window (which was blocked by solid bars).

Faye felt the fury bubble inside her, "Kian, if you don't release me, I swear by the _Gods_ I'll"-

"You'll what?" He ostracized her bravery, "tickle me to death?"

With that, Faye's brow furrowed in sudden anger and her hands clenched within Kians' grip. She continued to glare at him, her eyes twinkling with tears, and Kian titled his head curiously.

"What are you doing?" He inquired, confused by her odd behaviour.

Just as he asked this, he felt something fall and plop onto the cover of his boot and looked down to see a splodge of grey bird excrement decorating the leather. Kian looked skywards to locate the culprit and approximately thirty of its companions - a large flock of blackbirds circled the air at least fifty feet above them, casting shadows on the ground. Kian, gulping apprehensively, looked down at Faye.

"Don't you dare…" He warned her, shaking his head.

Faye smiled devilishly, "Then release me."

"I won't be threatened by a feather tamer!" Kian snorted to protect his pride.

Faye shrugged sarcastically, "Fine then…"

She flicked her fingers out to sprawls her hands open and, at once, the birds cawed and screeched in compliance to her command. At once Kian bolted over to the wagon and dragged the smirking Faye behind him where she trotted up the wooden steps and waited for Kian to swing the door open; when he had, he swung the both of them inside and slammed it shut just as one of the crows came swooping towards them. The couple were now hidden away in the darkness and confinements of the wagon but that wasn't enough for Kian. Out of nowhere, he suddenly grabbed Faye by her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall, pinning her in place.

"I bet you thought that was pretty funny, huh!" Kian snipped at her.

Faye, taken back, blinked up at him, "I did warn you…"

Kian stared down at her in the dim light, breathing heavy, recognising the outline of her soft lips. Their bodies were inches apart and he could feel her heartbeat pumping adrenaline through her body.

"Don't be foolish, red," Kian spoke ruggedly, his tough body threatening to fall into hers, "Orvin won't be as patient with you as I am."

"Well I'm not scared." Faye leant her head forwards to emphasise her honesty.

Kian continued to stare at her, blinking at her in a secretive surprise. This girl was definitely honourable for her bravery and faith, and her lips looked delicious; Kian kicked the distracting thoughts from his head and quickly pushed himself away from Faye to create some safe distance between them.

"You'll make it easier for yourself if you just do what he says. It's not such a bad life here. You'll be the star of the show." Kian attempted to stimulate her.

"I don't want to be a star," Faye gritted her teeth furiously, "I want to go home."

Kian just snickered, looking to the floor, musing over her words. Faye wondered if Kian was relating to her? He brushed his hand over his fluffy ponytail before turning to head for the door. He paused, glancing back at her.

"Keep those birds off me or I won't bring you lunch. You understand?" Kian threatened her, raising a finger.

Faye just nodded simply, providing him with a bargain. When Kian felt sure enough, he opened the door and walked out, locking it behind him. The sound of the key clicking away made Faye's anger swirl once more and reminded her that principle was more valuable than food. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and worked her magic; seconds later, she heard the pathetic yells and curses of Kian as he started running from the flock of angry crows. He deserved it.

As soon as his voice disappeared, the harshness of her reality forced its way upon her; Faye fell down onto the bed, curling into a small ball, and started to weep quietly to herself in her misery. Images of her fathers' face drifted across her mind and the ghostly scent of blood haunted her senses. Would she ever be able to escape this nightmare?


	7. I don't want to be a star

"Marvellous!" Orvin released a galvanized laughed, "I don't know what to say…"

Faye leant up from the elephants' head to look at him, blinking slow and thinking apprehensively. Faye was now in a harsh phase of foreboding. What was going to happen now that she had revealed her 'gift'? Faye patted the elephants' face and it carefully lifted its grotesque body back up onto its feet as if nothing had happened at all. Orvin beckoned her with a despotic wave of his hand and, hesitating for a moment, Faye begrudgingly obeyed him and walked towards him with her hands locked and lips frowning.

Orvin grinned goldenly down at her, "How did you do that?"

Faye gallantly just glared up at him, her lips tight and unwilling; her insubordinate attitude most displeased Orvin and, taking a step toward her, he stared down at her like a cruel shadow that haunts children's nightmares.

"You will answer me, girl," Orvin spoke lowly, "how do you do it?"

Faye's nose wrinkled in distaste, "You treat my gift profanely. The Gods will not be happy."

Orvin threw his head back and laughed in amusement, his voice echoing around the tent; Faye glanced at Kian with all the virulence she could find and, faintly, she swore she had seen a flash of guilt in Kians' eyes. But no, this couldn't be right. Kian was only out to help himself.

"Don't lecture me about '_Gods_'," Orvin sighed to Faye once he had finished laughing, "there's only one thing in this world I believe in - me. Now tell me!"

Orvin grabbed Faye's shoulder and she winced out, her legs weakening beneath her; his grip was powerful and harsh. Kian's expression wiped clean as he watched her wriggle in pain.

"I-it's hard to explain!" She cried out breathlessly.

"Well try." Orvin grumbled.

"I've been able to do it since I was a child," Faye whimpered as she stood stiff and oblique, "I j-just sort of… feel… and send it to them!"

Orvin tilted his head inquisitively, "Feel?"

Faye blushed, feeling momentarily fatuous, "I told you, it's hard to explain! Please, let me go!"

"Tell me more." Orvin demanded, squeezing her shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Faye cried, almost buckling to the floor.

Kian stepped forwards impulsively, "You're going to break her shoulder, Orvin…"

Orvin snapped his eyes onto Kian, "And why do you care so much about her health and safety?"

"Because," Kian licked his lips, fluctuating in his confidence, "if you damage her, she won't be able to perform."

Orvin considered his reason for a second or so and finally released Faye, who crumpled onto her knees and grabbed her throbbing shoulder sadly, her face completely sunken and hair falling along it like curtains. Kian just stared down at her, not revealing any pity that he felt. It fell silent for a moment until Faye spoke again, breathless and meek.

"When I see animals, they just… fill me with life and faith," She whispered , pathos oozing from her tone, "and I give it back to them. They understand my spirit."

Kian and Orvin looked to each other to exchange amazed looks; this girl was a miracle. Orvin burst out into more gentle laughter to express his awe and, placing his hand on Kian's back, he patted him proudly and gratefully.

"You've done it again, Kian!" He praised him, "my devilish boy!"

He took a few steps away from Faye to discuss something with him in private and Faye was left to remain on the floor as they did, though her burning eyes bore holes in the side of Kian's face. Kian could feel her but decided to ignore it, for now.

"Give her decent accommodation," Orvin clapped Kian on the back for a final token of appreciation, "we can't have her all stiff and bruised from sleeping with the animals."

Nodding, Kian then approached Faye with a reserved look in his eyes and bent down to help her stand by grabbing her wrists. Faye, however, begun to object at once and felt her heart waltz again.

"N-no!" Faye stuttered nervously, "please! I can't stay! I have to get back home!"

Standing with Kian, her desperate eyes clung onto the back of Orvin with every last bit of hope. The giant tyrant continued walking away from them, hands locked behind his back comfortably.

"This is your new home." He cruelly called back to her.

Kian started leading her towards the entrance of the circus tent but Faye dug her feet into the sandy ground to rebel against his authority. She looked up at him, eyes watering and wild, and her body beginning to tremble.

"Kian, please!" She gasped, "I thought you were helping me?"

Kian just snickered faintly and refrained from looking into her eyes, or at her in total, to prevent any humane emotions and morals from intervening with his job. This wasn't about being a decent person, this was about surviving life.

"Orvin!" Faye cried out to Orvin, "please!"

But Orvin refused to answer her and Faye was suddenly outside again where the morning freshness kissed at her now tear-stained cheeks. She was in shock by this point and Kian found it an easy task to guide her across the grass path.

"I thought you… were my friend." Faye growled venomously.

Kian stared up ahead, "That was your presumption. I never once mentioned the word 'friend'."

Faye whipped her head up to glare at him, "How can you be so wicked?"

"I think of it more as ambitious. It's a dog-eat-dog world." Kian calmly recapitulated life.

Faye sneered, "You're nothing but a heartless mercenary. There are more things to life than money, you know!"

"Oh, like the Gods?" Kian snickered caustically.

"Yes," Faye lifted her tear-stained face proudly, "and faith, and love, and kindness. When you're old and alone, what will your money do for you then?"

Kian rolled his eyes, "Pipe down, red. Your words of wisdom might work on other bible-bashers, but not me."

Faye tugged her wrists but Kian held a firm grip on them, "You _have _to release me, Kian. You don't understand the severity of my situation!"

"And you evidently don't get mine!" Kian chuckled, "I need money. Without it, I'm a wandering bump living off bark and worms."

"That's all you deserve." Faye hissed quietly.

Kian just sent her a resentful look. The couple fell into an intense silence as Kian proceeded in forcing Faye towards her new prison through the colourful and captivating campsites. Small fires were scattered around the tents and wagons and men, women and children gathered around in groups, chatting and laughing whilst having some food or washing their clothing and cutlery. The majority of them appeared apparently mundane from Faye's distance, although she couldn't decide for sure. She half expected someone to stand up with an extra pair of arms or poke out a lizard tongue! The air was thick with delicious aromas from the fires and cooking pots hanging above them and faint music could be heard from around the campsite; a mandolin, tambourine and flute were three main instruments familiar to Faye's ears.

"Here you are." Kian announced, catching Faye's attention.

She brought herself to an abrupt halt upon seeing the large wooden wagon with colourful flowers painted on its wooden skin, along with a wind chime and dream catcher hanging above the side window (which was blocked by solid bars).

Faye felt the fury bubble inside her, "Kian, if you don't release me, I swear by the _Gods_ I'll"-

"You'll what?" He ostracized her bravery, "tickle me to death?"

With that, Faye's brow furrowed in sudden anger and her hands clenched within Kians' grip. She continued to glare at him, her eyes twinkling with tears, and Kian titled his head curiously.

"What are you doing?" He inquired, confused by her odd behaviour.

Just as he asked this, he felt something fall and plop onto the cover of his boot and looked down to see a splodge of grey bird excrement decorating the leather. Kian looked skywards to locate the culprit and approximately thirty of its companions - a large flock of blackbirds circled the air at least fifty feet above them, casting shadows on the ground. Kian, gulping apprehensively, looked down at Faye.

"Don't you dare…" He warned her, shaking his head.

Faye smiled devilishly, "Then release me."

"I won't be threatened by a feather tamer!" Kian snorted to protect his pride.

Faye shrugged sarcastically, "Fine then…"

She flicked her fingers out to sprawls her hands open and, at once, the birds cawed and screeched in compliance to her command. At once Kian bolted over to the wagon and dragged the smirking Faye behind him where she trotted up the wooden steps and waited for Kian to swing the door open; when he had, he swung the both of them inside and slammed it shut just as one of the crows came swooping towards them. The couple were now hidden away in the darkness and confinements of the wagon but that wasn't enough for Kian. Out of nowhere, he suddenly grabbed Faye by her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall, pinning her in place.

"I bet you thought that was pretty funny, huh!" Kian snipped at her.

Faye, taken back, blinked up at him, "I did warn you…"

Kian stared down at her in the dim light, breathing heavy, recognising the outline of her soft lips. Their bodies were inches apart and he could feel her heartbeat pumping adrenaline through her body.

"Don't be foolish, red," Kian spoke ruggedly, his tough body threatening to fall into hers, "Orvin won't be as patient with you as I am."

"Well I'm not scared." Faye leant her head forwards to emphasise her honesty.

Kian continued to stare at her, blinking at her in a secretive surprise. This girl was definitely honourable for her bravery and faith, and her lips looked delicious; Kian kicked the distracting thoughts from his head and quickly pushed himself away from Faye to create some safe distance between them.

"You'll make it easier for yourself if you just do what he says. It's not such a bad life here. You'll be the star of the show." Kian attempted to stimulate her.

"I don't want to be a star," Faye gritted her teeth furiously, "I want to go home."

Kian just snickered, looking to the floor, musing over her words. Faye wondered if Kian was relating to her? He brushed his hand over his fluffy ponytail before turning to head for the door. He paused, glancing back at her.

"Keep those birds off me or I won't bring you lunch. You understand?" Kian threatened her, raising a finger.

Faye just nodded simply, providing him with a bargain. When Kian felt sure enough, he opened the door and walked out, locking it behind him. The sound of the key clicking away made Faye's anger swirl once more and reminded her that principle was more valuable than food. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and worked her magic; seconds later, she heard the pathetic yells and curses of Kian as he started running from the flock of angry crows. He deserved it.

As soon as his voice disappeared, the harshness of her reality forced its way upon her; Faye fell down onto the bed, curling into a small ball, and started to weep quietly to herself in her misery. Images of her fathers' face drifted across her mind and the ghostly scent of blood haunted her senses. Would she ever be able to escape this nightmare?


	8. Welcome to the show!

_Junyas looked down upon Faye, love and admiration swimming in his handsome eyes. He made Faye blush every time he gave her this look… The wind blew around them and the sunset cast magical shades of a fiery romance across the sky; the young couple stood, smiling at each other, on the balcony of their Temple._

"_Is this what you want?" Junyas whispered, stroking a lock from Faye's cheek._

_Faye touched his hand sweetly, "Which part?"_

"_To be wed. To me. I know Priestesses usually dedicate their lives to prayer and worship." Junyas answered, toying with her hair still._

"_That is true," Faye glanced out at the horizon, "but my people need this. A solid family to look up to. It is the right thing."_

"_You didn't answer my question, still…" Junyas smirked tenderly._

_Faye looked back up at him again, heart pounding, eyes heated, and allowed Junyas to lean down and plant a warm kiss upon her lips. Faye soon returned his gesture and the two locked each other in their arms. Drawing his lips to her neck, Junyas held her in his embrace._

"_I want to make you happy," He whispered to her, stroking her head, "forever."_

_Faye smiled to herself, her face buried in his shoulder as she enjoyed his lips against her earlobe. She was so lucky, so fortunate, to be able to find love in an arranged marriage like this. It was the Gods, rewarding her for her eternal love and faith._

Faye's eyes snapped open and she found herself in a completely different place; lying in a bed, facing upwards to blink at- Kian? Faye released a startled gasp and shot upwards, causing Kian to leap back in order to avoid bumping heads with her. She scurried back against the wooden wall at the head of the bed and pulled her knees into her chest to stare at him hatefully.

Smirking, Kian placed his hands on his hips, "Who's Junyas?"

Faye's expression softened somewhat, "How do you"-

"You were saying his name. Well, crying it more like. An awful bloody racket," Kian teased insensitively, "so who is he?"

"None of your business," Faye snapped irritably, "why are you here? Have you come to terrorise me some more?"

"No," Kian smirked handsomely, "I figured that depriving you of food was good enough, after your little show with the birds earlier. Very good work."

"Thank you," Faye forced a malicious little smile, "I knew you would like it."

Chuckling angrily, Kian clicked his tongue in his mouth as impatient grabbed a hold of him. He reflected his emotions onto Faye by leaning down and grabbing her, not hard but fast, by the back of the neck and forcing her to stand.

"Hey!" Faye squeaked, "get off!"

"Sorry, red," Kian led her towards the open door, where the sunset sky smiled shades of a fiery danger at her, "you're wanted in the arena."

Faye wriggled in his grip, "You don't have to be so aggressive!"

"I know," Kian smugly chirped, "but I enjoy annoying you."

"Ugh!" Faye growled heartily, rolling her eyes.

Faye helplessly marched down the wagon steps, Kian closing the door after himself, and allowed him to ease her onwards through the campsite. No one really took much notice of her, except for the odd glances towards Kians' precautionary restraints upon her. Children ran across her path, giggling and yelling, and Faye jumped back to avoid being knocked over.

"They're children, not demons." Kian tutted irritably as she trod on his foot in her movement.

Faye ignored his comment as she watched the children run over to a nearby campsite where their mothers grabbed them and begun tickling them as a method of ending their mischief. Faye smiled faintly until she noticed that one of the boys' toes and fingers were webbed like a fish! How bizarre! One of the mothers looked up, noticing Faye standing there, and sent her a look of protective disapproval, which forced Faye to quickly look away. Kian pushed her onwards.

They eventually arrived back to the main Circus tent, where she could hear voices shouting and hands clapping to create a rhythmical guideline from inside the tent's shell. At first, Faye hesitated and looked up at Kian for some sort of saving, but Kian just smirked and pushed her roughly forwards so that she stumbled through the flap of the tent and arrived clumsily inside. Orvin stood by the backstage doorway and was clapping while watching two women, dressed in feathered attires, swooping back and forth through the air from swings; they were both hanging upside-down when they caught hands, and the woman on the left released the grip of her legs from the swing and allowed her partner to swoop her away, freely, across to the other side of the room by her naked hands. Faye's lips parted in awe as she watched the gracious acrobats swoop, flip, swing and twirl through the air; they were gracious like wishes drifting from the Temples and out to the great sea…

"You like?" Kian folded his arms, arriving beside her, "quite a sight, aren't they."

Faye's eyes were transfixed upon them, "They're amazing…"

Kian glanced casually down at Faye's face, just out of curiosity, but found himself unable to look away once he caught sight of the ignition in her expression. She looked like an excited child on her birthday, eyes sparkling and tender lips hanging agape in wonder. It was quite sweet to see her so easily entertained…

"You like the show?" A male voice spoke out to Faye.

At first, Faye jumped in surprise from the new company, but upon seeing the handsome face of the dancer, she relaxed again. Kian just stared at him, stiffly. The man had been practising his ensemble with the Siamese twins, Karitha and Laritha, when Faye first arrived that morning. His ash-blond hair was short but full and fell lightly across his brow, creating a shadow over his blue eyes. He smiled charmingly at Faye and held out a friendly hand.

"Dwye." He introduced himself chivalrously.

Hesitating a first, Faye extended her own hand, "Faye…"

He planted a quick kiss atop the back of her hand and smiled warmly as he returned it to her; but as warm as his smile might have been, his eyes delivered a different vibe to Faye's instincts. She could always tell by their eyes, and there was unequivocally something indescribably cold about this man.

"I saw what you did earlier," Dwye nodded, admiring her with his lusty eyes, "with the elephant."

Faye sighed, looking down at her hands in shame. Kian watched, anticipating Dwye's behaviour, knowing that his presence would be detrimental somehow.

"Why the sigh?" Dwye rested his foot on one of the seats, while leaning his forearm on his knee, to get a closer look at Faye, "it was brilliant. No one has any secrets here."

Faye glanced at him, leaning back subtly, "Well, I was _forced_. I didn't choose to share it. Tell me what's so 'brilliant' about that concept."

"Orvin's a hard nut to crack," Dwye pouted his lips ever so faintly, as if trying to impress Faye, "but I'm sure within no time, you'll have him wrapped around your little finger. You, Faye, are certainly a very _beautiful_ creature."

Kian rolled his eyes, unable to endure anymore of Dwye's slimy performance. His words and tone were quite forceful, in Faye's opinion, and the way he stared at her like a juicy leg of lamb made her feel fidgety. She sent prayers for something to interrupt them - Kian came to her rescue.

"Give it a rest, Dwye," Kian sighed, mockingly, "she's only been here a few hours and you're already pestering her."

Dwye slowly trailed his eyes onto Kian and smiled, bitterly, but in a false manner of friendliness. Faye wondered if there was already some sort of historical friction between the two men?

"Now, now, Kian," Dwye sniggered, "jealousy is a fowl thing. I was merely complimenting Faye on her wonderful talent."

Kian kept silent, upholding his cocky smile and dark, untrusting eyes. His hands were held tightly down by his sides as he watched and waited for Dwye to move along; Dwye understood. Sighing, he turned to face Faye once more and bowed his head romantically.

"It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm sure we'll be bumping into each other again soon." He spoke in a mildly concupiscent whisper.

Faye just watched him go without a single gesture or smile; she didn't like his aura in the slightest. When Dwye had created enough distance between them, Faye released the breath she head been holding in and leant towards Kian.

"Your best friend?" She sarcastically asked.

"Dwye and I… we have our differences," Kian narrowed his eyes at the back of Dwye from his place across the arena, "He's a pretty dancing queen and I'm a real man, you see."

"I see," Faye affirmatively and yet utterly cynically, "completely understandable."

Not appreciating her farcical posture, Kian sent her a short, dry glance of acrimony, just as Orvin noticed them both standing there. He greeted them by stretching his eagle arms widely in celebration.

"Welcome to the show!" Orvin's voice echoed out to Faye, sending waves of both fear and intrigue blowing her way.

Unnerved, Faye looked to Kian with a wrinkled nose, a result of her confusion from the obscurity of Orvins' behaviour; one moment he was the type of devil who would threaten to cut a poor girls' toes off, and the next he was like a merry Santa Claus. Kian, amused by her naivety, shoved her gently on the back to urge her forwards; Faye started walking bashfully through the arena, the two women still swaying back and forth in the air above.

"Just in time!" Orvin bellowed exuberantly.

Faye tutted as Kian shoved her one, final time to enclose an appropriate amount of space between her and Orvin; his shadow now towered over her. Faye stood, awkwardly, holding her elbows and blinking gingerly like a lost puppy.

Orvin batted his thick eyelashes, "I hope you slept well?"

Faye didn't reply; of _course _she didn't sleep well. It was awful. And Orvin knew it.

"Splendid!" Orvin pretended she had replied, "now, after Rutha and Myla finish their act on the ropes, I was thinking we could really _wow _the audience with an act never seen before. Something marvellous. Terrifying. Unbelievable! Kian told me all about your heroics back in Ridian - a tiger! Wonderful, sensational stuff! I like it! But I was thinking maybe _two _LIONS instead! And…"

Orvin's voice trailed off into an echo, tapping at Faye's distraught mind. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Did Orvin actually expect her to stand up there and flaunt her secret to the public? Using it for money? Supporting the cruel act of animal captivation and training them like little pets? It was horrific, and totally against any of her teachings.

"No." Faye spoke, as if perfunctory.

Orvin cut himself off, blinking in surprise, "No, my petal?"

"I won't do this," Faye squeezed her hands anxiously, "it's not right."

Kian glanced warily at Faye, aware of how her objections may be seen only as flippant by Orvin. Why was she so stubborn? Why couldn't she just _listen _to him and do what he said? Obey! It was so much easier!

"I don't believe I'm giving you the choice, Faye." Orvin's tone fizzed with a graveness and his shoulders stiffened.

Faye swallowed hard, bracing herself, "My decision is indomitable."

Orvin arched an eyebrow, perhaps an impressed eyebrow, but one that signalled negativity to Faye. She knew this was a bad idea, but she had to stand her ground. She had to fight for her beliefs.

"What did I tell you earlier, about your toes?" Orvin spoke in a gruff manner.

Faye gasped sharply, her stomach contorting frightfully. What would the Gods do, in her position? Endure the pain with honor, or negotiate with the latter?

"I can assure you, Orvin," Faye lifted her chin proudly, "do your worst. Mine is a heart hat cannot be tarnished."

Kian's mouth slouched crookedly in his annoyance; why was this girl so foolish? Orvin's lips stretched into a crafty smirk, one that panicked Faye all the more. What was he so pleased about?


	9. Something's popped up

It was a wild and stripy night, abuzz with the energy and vivacity of the audience. Children shouted impatiently and waved their colourful flags, munched on their snacks and played with their friends while parents chattered nobly amongst themselves while pretending to be nonchalant towards the night ahead. The atmosphere was electrical and sent a live currency straight into Faye's heart, who stood shaking backstage with her hands clutched together at her chest and her wide eyes glued to the floor; she was bobbing on her knees with adrenaline.

"Ah," Kian chuckled, jumping in the air as he jogged over to her, "all set for the big night, red?"

Faye didn't look at him. She was far too engrossed in gazing at the floor like a mad person. Kian tried snapping his fingers around her face, to no prevail, and then resorted to actually touching her on the shoulder - a soft touch, a human touch of care. Finally, she looked up at him.

"I'm so weak," Faye frowned, her voice trembling, "I should never have given in."

Kian snickered, "So you would have rather had your toes cut off?"

"You find this funny?" Faye gasped petulantly, slapping his arm away, "you're no better than Orvin! Get out of my sight! I can't believe that for a moment, I actually thought you were a decent person! I thought I saw some humanity and love in your eyes, but I was certainly wrong!"

Kian blinked, leaning his head back somewhat. Her words were surprisingly powerful over him.

"You're the lowest of the low," She sneered, shaking her head at him in grief, "at least Orvin didn't _pretend_ to be decent."

Huffing vehemently, she twirled away from him and marched off into the opposite direction - she was unsure of where she wanted to go, exactly, but if it was away from Kian then it was perfect. Kian watched her, expressionless, strut away in her rather attractive champagne leotard, high heels and sparkling headpiece; she really suited it. But her words, for some reason, had left an imprint on him. Why did she always have a way of actually affecting him?

"Ladies and gentlemeeeeeen!" Orvins' voice called from the arena, "welcome to the shooooooooow!"

The audience flew up into mad applause - whistling, cheering, clapping and screaming with excitement. The sound made Faye's stomach flip uncontrollably.

"You are the lucky few, granted a seat tonight to witness a _world_ of wonders! Open your minds and let down your guards - see past the shields you have been hiding behind - see this horror for the beauty that it really is! Feast your eyes on some of the most incredible, terrifying, spectacular and magnanimous!" Orvin shouted to them all.

His words offended Faye and caused her to squeeze her fist so tightly that it hurt. She listened to the crowed gasp, giggle and oooooh as the performers acted out their sequences in turn. First, the fire jugglers and breathers, then the Karitha and Laritha with Dwye - who couldn't resist sending Faye an unwanted wink before disappearing into the arena - then the five dwarfs dressed like jokers waddled into the spotlight to evoke laughter from everyone. Faye's stomach was somersaulting. It was her turn soon… Just after the woman with the beard… who came just before Faye…

"And now, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls - prepare yourselves for something totally mind-blowing… something unusually unbelievable… a power so strange that it will _dazzle _you forever… I give you, Lilywren - the _Beast Charmer_!" Orvin's resonating voice provoked the audience.

Faye clenched her eyes shut as she stood up properly. Her mouth was dry, her heart pounding from the lurid sounds of the arena. The prop managers and assistants were already at the Lion cage, opening it up and controlling them with iron sticks and ropes - the creatures were feeling far from obsequious. Faye frowned back at them and, catching their eyes, sent them a warm smile and gently held up her fingers by her side; the crew were abashed to see them settle and walk out, side by side, towards her.

"Blimey…" One of the men sighed, removing his hat in respect.

Kian, who stood not far from the Lion cage, smiled to himself as he watched the amazing Faye greet her fellow performers by stroking their manes. The Lions just stood either side of her, waiting obediently, purring a little. Faye enjoyed the sensation of their static fur between her fingers; it brought her some comfort. Then, the curtains were pulled aside by the stage workers and the fire-conducted spotlights pounced upon Faye and her Lions, making her blink a few times; her costume twinkled like diamonds and the Lions released startling roars as the audience cheered, gasped and screamed nervously.

"Do not be afraid!" Orvin assured them all, still standing on his Ringmaster stage, "for Lilywren has complete control over these wild, ferocious beasts! See, how they walk with her! Watch, as she touches them, like they were one of her own!"

Faye started to step, slowly and in time with the drums, towards the core of the arena. The spotlight was so effulgent that she found difficulty in seeing any faces clearly, but she could still see their outlines and silhouettes in the stalls. Their voices were full of shock and wonder - she knew how strange she must have looked to them all… But Faye performed completely, just as Orvin had instructed her. She commanded the Lions to run in synchronization with each other, let her hug them, ride on their backs, roll over, run towards the audience and then stop at the last second to frighten them (several people made to run for their escape, but soon relaxed with excited laughter). It was, in all honesty, a wonderful performance. Kian watched from backstage as Faye bewitched the audience and caused men to fall in love and women to form a new level of envy and admiration, while children found their ultimate idol. She was a star…

"Mummy! Mummy!" A child in the audience shouted, tugging on his blonde mothers' arm, "isn't that the witch?"

The woman distractedly glanced down at him, "What, Rupen? Watch the show, darling"-

"But Mummy!" He shouted again, finally attaining her full attention, "isn't she the witch that killed Mr Mullivan back at home?"

The woman's face twisted as she commenced in some short reminiscing; her eyes then slowly trailed back onto Faye and, at recognising her face, she gasped and her eyes bolted wide open. Her son was right. It _was _the witch!

"Now, now, don't be silly Rupen," She giggled, falsely, "just watch the show…"

The boy did as his mother requested, totally oblivious to her lying. Faye delivered a final, gracious bow to her audience with her left leg outstretched and her arm unfolding down it as she went; the whole tent was blazing with applause. They loved her. So why did Faye feel so terrible? Turning, she walked towards the backstage curtains with the Lions strolling heavily beside her once again and as soon as the curtains fell down behind them, she directed them back into their cage.

"I'm sorry," Faye frowned at their large, glossy eyes, "I can't do anything right now…"

The Lions both moaned at the back of their throats, almost to purr, and nuzzled her waist and stomach with their wide foreheads. Kian slowly walked up behind them, arms folded and fingers rubbing his chin in as he pondered at the sight.

"They understand you, don't they." He spoke, once he had stopped behind her.

Faye looked over her shoulder and frowned instantly upon recognising him, "Why should I tell you anything?"

Kian's face became a little lopsided in his clueless reasoning, "Because I'm asking?"

Faye huffed and one of the Lions sent a rather belligerent growl towards Kian, making him step back slightly. Faye just smirked sassily at his weakness before turning back round and assisting the Lions back into their cage. Kian was pulled away by his obligations to help with all the tasks backstage, but he noticed how Faye spent the rest of her night sitting on the floor beside the Lions' cage, whispering to them and stroking them through the metal squares of their prisons. She really held an unconditional respect for creatures, more than anyone he had ever known.

This was how the next four nights played out. Faye stuck to her same, precise routine and would loyally accompany the Lions until the show had ended and all personnel were ordered to their wagons or tents. Faye thought it totally squalid, that such beautiful and magnificent creatures were to be held captive in such an inadequate environment. Faye had begged with Orvin to allow her to take them for late night strolls with the guarding of Kian, but he denied her any permission for such an 'irresponsible suggestion'. And every night that Faye went out there and pranced about for her greedy, selfish spectators, her anger only blossomed into a flower of hatred for the ignorance of mankind. But for Kian, his admiration and intrigue with Faye grew just as equally and he begun to realise just how precious this girl truly was. Watching her was more than therapeutic - it was like a revelation of the things in life that people were too blind to appreciate.

It soon became Friday - the Circus' busiest night, according to Kian. Faye was outside, satisfying herself with some quick fresh air before her queue was announced. She was applying and rectifying her headpiece when, in the distance and under the glowing breath of the moon, she spotted a trail of galloping horses coming towards the Circus. Initially, Faye had assumed them to be more customers racing to arrive on time for the next act - but why would they be turning up halfway through the show? Squinting her eyes for focus, Faye took two scrutinizing steps forwards in her search for something more precise - and that's when she saw it. The symbol of her Kingdom, on their flags and the cloths thrown over the saddles of their horses. They had come from the Temples, searching for Faye no doubt. This was bad. Terribly bad. Faye spun around in sudden alarm, intending on finding some hiding, when she bumped straight into the hard chest of Dwye.

"Woah, there," Dwye chuckled, taking her by the outer arms, "am I that scary looking?"

Faye shot a panicked glance over her shoulder, "Uh, no, I just realised that I'm on soon and I haven't seen the lions to"-

"Oh, I wouldn't be worrying about that now… Something's popped up." Dwye strangely cooed.

Faye looked at him, baffled, and saw him smiling suspiciously with a glint of darkness in his eyes. Something was different. Something was _wrong_. Dwye then whistled softly and Faye was startled to see three unfamiliar, odious and large men emerge from within the circus tent, all wearing black uniforms to match the prop asisstants'; but Faye didn't recognise them and knew they weren't employees of Orvins'.

Faye inhaled a breath, ready to scream for help, but one of them instantly shoved a cloth in her mouth while the other two restrained her, holding her in place. They tied the cloth around her head and bound her hands in leather rope at her back.

"And my fee?" Dwye asked the men in a snotty tone.

One of the brutes tore a small pouch from his belt and, tossing it in the air, passed it to Dwye who skilfully caught it in his palm. Faye stared at him, wide-eyed and horrified, while the bandits took a moment to admire Faye, stroking her shoulder and sides lustfully.

"I knew the moment I laid eyes on you, you'd be a fine price," Dwye smiled cruelly at Faye, "pleasure doing business, gentlemen."

The three thugs chuckled lowly and started dragging Faye away from the tent; Faye released a long, penetrating scream from the back of her throat and threw her head back to try and smash it into the nose of the man behind her; she had failed. The man, now antagonised, scrunched a lump of hair in his fist and yanked her head back nastily to scowl down at her.

"Don't try that again…" He spat in her face, his stale breath pungent.

Tears prickled at Fayes' eyes as she faced her fears. Was there anyone she didn't have to be afraid of? She was being kidnapped - not again!


	10. You know me

Screaming critically for her safety, Faye prayed that someone would hear her muffled voice as the thugs dragged her away from the Circus and towards their horses, which were tied to the trees on the other side of the grassy path. Faye was surprised to be wishing she was back inside, and that she had never wanted to come outside for fresh air, and that she was doing the same routine she had been performing every night since Monday. Anything was better than where she was probably being taken!

"I give you, Lilywren - the _Beast Charmer_!" Orvins' inspiring voice blasted out to the night.

As soon as she heard her name, Faye knew what to do. As the bandit abrasively dragged her across the grass path, she spotted the Guards of Luahth galloping closer, now only half a mile away. They would be here in minutes! Closing her eyes, tears dripping down her face, she focused her energy and conjured up the emotions she felt when spending time with the Lions - she called to them, whispered their names, reached out to their souls… Suddenly, screams erupted from within the Circus and Faye's eyes shot open knowledgeably just in time to see the gorgeous felines leap out through the curtained entrance of the Circus. They were swift and speedy across the grass and it was only when they were ten feet away that the three bandits realised they were under attack.

Faye was thrown to the floor as the Lions leapt at their targets and, as she curled up on the floor, hiding away from the traumatising mauling taking place all around her, she knew that the Guards of Luahth would be there soon. Faye listened to the bloodcurdling screams of the bandits vanish from the other side of her hands, pressed to her ears, and she slowly cracked her eyes open and lifted her head to see their dead, blooded bodies scattered around her. The horses were bucking madly by their trees as they panicked dramatically at the sight of the Lions and smelt their hunger - Faye stood, tall and statuesque and held her gentle hands up to them.

"Be calm," She cooed, "they won't hurt you. I promise…"

Slowly, the horses snorted and gruffled and came to a standstill. The sound of new voices breaking free from the enclosure of the Circus arena captured Faye's attention and she turned around to see many of the customers fleeing, screaming and shouting in fear. Faye looked to the Lions, deeply into their eyes and sent them a nod of farewell.

"Go. You're free. Harm no human here." She gently instructed.

The Lions' ears twitched and then they were gone, bounding across the sandy, dry lands and away from the forest behind Faye. They were headed home - where they deserved to be. Where everyone deserve to be.

"Faye!" Orvins' tenacious voice hollered out.

Faye gasped, looking sideways, to see the giant oppressor standing at the side of the Circus entrance; he was looking directly at her and didn't appear the slightest bit pleased. It was time for Faye to flee, herself, and finally finish what never should have started. Faye effortlessly climbed up and mounted one of the bandits' horses, while freeing the other two by yanking the ropes free from the branches. She confidently took the reigns and cast one last glance to Orvin before nudging the horse in its side and setting off into a gallop into the dark forest with only the moonlight to guide them.

"Faaaaaayeeee!" Orvin's devastated and raging voice flew past her in the wind.

Faye nearly laughed to herself as she gripped the reigns, leaning low, and moved in time with the galloping of her horse. The two other horses, despite being set free, had insisted on accompanying Faye for a while as they also enjoyed their newly found freedom. Faye was pleasured from the wind in her hair and against her face, the excitement of the speed at which her horse raced and the smell of the fresh, sweet forest chirping and twittering around her. It was wonderful, but Faye knew she wasn't 'out of the woods' just yet.

"Faye!" A familiar voice caught up to her in the breeze.

Blinking, Faye questioned the authenticity of the voice she had just heard; was it her ears playing tricks on her, or was it really-

"Faye, stop!" Kians shouted adamantly.

Faye looked over her shoulder and, confirming her doubts, there she saw Kian speeding up behind her on his chocolate steed. He was catching up, fast, which wasn't in Faye's plan at all. Now highly disappointed and irritated, Faye ripped her heavy, hard headpiece and tossed it into the air behind her with a hope that it would hit Kian - it missed.

"Hey!" He barked angrily, "you little-!"

Faye licked her lips anxiously as she processed her options; there weren't many, no matter how decisive she could be in pressurising situations such as these. Faye tugged on the reigns and steered her horse sharply to the left where the woodland floor descended into a sloping hillside - she was travelling headfast and steady and her heart swelled as she begun to believe in her successful escape, when-

"OOF!"

Faye felt something large come crashing into her and she was unexpectedly thrown from her horse, onto the grassy floor, and sent tumbling down the hillside with leaves, twigs and dirt splashing up around her. The world was a twirl for several seconds until she finally came to settle on her back, hair a mess, clothing slightly torn and skin bruised and scraped in several places. Kian had landed directly atop of her and was now pinning her down by her wrists, straddling her.

Breathless, Faye ingested the previous seconds and blinked up at Kian inquisitively. All the emotions from the past few days started to swell inside her and force their way out - she had lost, once again. She had felt so elevated and high from her near escape and the belief that she was going to be home, at last, to only be shot down once again and crumpled to the ground in bruises and dire disappointment. Faith's face contorted, miserably, and she let every muscle fall limp as she burst into silent sobs on her back. Kian's serious expression began to soften at seeing her defeat. Faye turned her head to the left to avoid having to look at him as she spoke.

"You can't take me back there…" She whispered through her tears, "I'm… I'm the…

Kian blinked, panting over her and waiting, "What?"

Sighing, releasing any last determination to hide, she slowly looked back up at Kian. Her eyes were now filled with vulnerability and fear - a deeper fear he hadn't seen before. Something highly sentimental.

"I'm… the… I'm apprentice to the Priestess of Luahth." She finally revealed, her voice tender and quiet.

Kian stared down at her, lips agape and eyes twitching as he deliberated with himself. Whistles and shouts from the Guards of Luahth could be heard growing closer from somewhere in the forest, not far away, and Faye flinched frightfully.

"She didn't do it. She didn't kill her father," Faye whimpered, her voice emotionally strained, "I know the Priestess and she would _never _do such a thing. I fled from our home, six days ago, when she was accused of his death and now I'm being hunted for questioning. They think I had something to do with it. And now I _have _to return home and speak to my"- Faye froze at nearly letting slip the truth, "my Priestess' mother. I can fix everything, but not if I keep being kidnapped."

Kian continued to watch her, eyes misted in shock and his eyebrows creased in confusion. He didn't know what to think! Time was running out as the Guards drew closer in search for the delinquent apprentice. Kian glanced thoughtfully at Faye's shoulders and sides as he felt her trembling violently in fear. He had to made a decision, and fast. The sound of rain hissed from the tree tops, and within seconds, the angels opened up the skies and let their tears shatter down upon the earth to begin drenching everything.

"Please, Kian…" Faye whispered, reaching out to him with her innocence, "I know we haven't exactly been 'companions' but you know the kind of person I am. You know me. I'm not lying!"

Another whistle came from the searching Guards, but this time it was from the top of the hillside. They were just thirty feet away from them. Faye was about to accept that her end was upon her when Kian surprised her and rolled over, offering her his hand. She didn't move, at first, and just gazed at him in amazement in the soaking rain.

"Well?" Kian grunted, shaking his hand.

Faye slapped her hand into his and he yanked her to her feet so that they could break out into a run together. Their feet were quick and light upon the grass and due to the rain, any sounds they accidentally created were covered by its hissing and hammering on the trees. They ran for at least fifteen minutes until Kian found a tall, large tree and brought them both to a halt so that he could examine it in consultation.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift up." Kian beckoned her over, waving his hand.

Faye wasn't entirely confident in his plan, but she went over to him nonetheless and cooperated with him as he locked his hands together in a large bowl shape, leaning down, and offered it to her as a step. Faye held onto his shoulders as she jumped up and Kian lifted her as high as possible in order for her to climb up into the body of the tree. Pulling herself up with her arms and pushing with her feet, Faye managed to climb all the way up and rolled over the barky ledge and into the flatness of the core of the tree; it was a large, circular area formed by the separation of its thick arms and the bushy leaves offered shelter from the rain. Faye shuffled over to the other side when she heart Kian grunting and panting on his way up. He rolled, falling into the dip, and then recomposed himself in a sitting position against one of the wide branches.

Kian then held his finger up to his lips to gesture Faye into an alarmed silence. She kept quiet, frozen stiff, and listened as she heard the guards on their horses come to a slow trot somewhere down below.

"Any sign of them?" One of the men loudly asked.

"Nothing!" Another grunted, clearly disgruntled and tired.

"Aargghh!" The other groaned impatiently, "this is useless! We'll ride right the way through and then course back around it to the Circus, interrogate all the performers. Come on!"

With that, the three men ordered their horses to resume movement and Faye and Kian listened to their hooves disappear into the forest, only to be replaced by the solid, soothing hissing of the gentle rain. Faye released her breath and fell back against the solid bark, rubbing her face in relief. That was a close call… When the aftershock of their near capture washed away with the excess water on her body, Faye suddenly remembered what she had told Kian and let her hand slowly fall into her lap. He was staring straight at her with an intrigued, slightly peevish sulk across his handsome face. Faye couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked, wet and glistening.

"Thank you." Faye awkwardly spoke, her voice gentle and diffident.

Kian remained silent, making the situation all the more tense. Faye wasn't sure what to say. Sighing, she started to roll her hair and squeeze the water out of it, just as a distraction and an excuse to avoid the strange silence between them.

"I thought I recognised you." Kian finally spoke.

Faye, pausing, looked over at him in a moment of paranoia; had he caught her out? Did he know that she was, herself, the actual Priestess and not the apprentice she had invented in her story? A flash of lightening ignited their faces in a second of white light, and seconds later came the magical grumbling of the thunder which trembled all around them. It was beautiful.

"I just ignored it though. Figured I'd seen someone like you. But I was right. You're the Priestess' apprentice. Huh." Kian sniggered at the irony and shook his head at himself.

Faye frowned as she watched him, now feeling slight relief. At least he still believed her. His body language and selection of words didn't exactly make her feel forgiven or trusted, however.

"The Priestess didn't do it…" Faye told him, tilting her head eagerly, "she didn't kill her father."

Kian continued to stare at his feet and Faye felt doubt tickling at the back of her mind. She thought Kian would know her better, but maybe not? Faye thought it was an eternity before he spoke again.

Looking up, Kian smirked, "I know."

Faye closed her eyes, sighing, trying to cope with the sensation of relief that nearly drowned her. She let her face fall into her hands and she shook her head as she reminisced over the past few days.

"When I found you in the woods that day, you were running weren't you." Kian rhetorically asked her.

Faye uncovered her face and nodded at him, frowning. Another flash of lightening revealed her distinctive features to Kian and he enjoyed the way her eyes sparkled in the whiteness of it; the thunder echoed after, soaring through the skies.

Kian folded his arms, "Why did you run? If you're innocent, and so is the Priestess, you had no reason to."

Faye sighed sorrowfully and her eyes dropped, "I was out at the Temples, praying. When I got back that night, the Priestess and I found the King's dead body lying in his chambers. The Priestess ran to him, rolled him over, found the dagger in his side – the Priestess was covered in his blood by the time his advisor happened to walk in. I was standing there looking frightened and very much involved."

Water dripped from Faye's face and Kian had presumed it was more rain, but as Faye lifted her head he realised it was salty tears. She looked heartbroken.

"But we didn't do it. His advisor Zazell, the Priestess' uncle, didn't believe us. Neither did Junyas." Faye's voice was restricted as her emotions pressured her vocal cords.

Kian recognized the name and his face twitched, "Junyas… The name from your dream."

Faye shook her head, disappointed, "He was her fiance. He accused us, also. It was… awful. I've never seen the Priestess so- heartbroken. She loved him with her entire soul…"

Kian slowly frowned and watched her in a grave, sympathetic silence. Faye then feared that she was revealing too much emotion and inhaled a deep breath to subdue her urge to start crying; tears had already begun to pour despite her efforts. But tears were understandable; Faye had evidently experience a lot of pain, but Kian couldn't know the truth about who she really was. That was all Faye had to remember.

"I shouldn't have ran… but I was scared. The Priestess' mother was away, visiting friends. Junyas and her uncle were all we had to rely upon and they wouldn't even let us touch them as we begged for their love and faith." Faye glared through the branches of the tree at the falling rain, her face now glistening with tears.

"… I-…-" Kian sighed, flabbergasted, and brushed his wet fringe back, "I really had no idea."

Faye let out a light sob and wiped her cheeks, "No one does. My people will never let me back in again. The Priestess will _never _be their wings again. Not unless I find the Queen and speak with her, before all of this gets too out of control."

"Where is she?" Kian inquired out of interest.

"On the coast, in Fennella. Her return to Lauhth is in one week from today. If I can reach her before then, I may still have a chance at fixing all of this madness. I want to be there for the Kings' funeral." Faye explained.

"Why?" Kian narrowed a suspicious eye.

Faye improvised quickly, "W-well… He wasn't my father, but he treated me like his daughter. We were close. I want to bless him. I spent my years in the Temples, praying and cleansing myself, purely for those tasks. If I can't serve the man who gave me such love, then who can I?"

Kian didn't know what to do or say. It was awful, seeing such a beautiful person so torn and terrified. He could see her soul, shredding itself and bleeding. The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds, listening to the rain and digesting everything which had just been discussed. It was a lot to handle, for the both of them.

"We should try and sleep," Kian finally spoke, changing the subject, "we'll move at dawn."

Kian then removed his thick over-coat and, moving over to Faye, set it over her legs very slowly. Their eyes caught as he perched momentarily before her and lightening sparked once again, revealing all the colours in their iris'. Kian's eyes sent her a most solicitous warmth. Faye felt something strange and warm tug at her chest, distracting her from the misery tearing away at her. What was this strange emotion blooming between them?

"Thank you…" She whispered, sniffing bashfully.

Kian just bowed his head faintly and then returned to his side of the tree, where he tested out several different positions before finding a suitable style for sleep. Faye slid down so that she was flat on her side and pulled Kian's damp coat up to her neck where she could smell his scent; it was sweet but harsh at the same time. She closed her eyes and listened to the hypnotising music of the rainstorm, but all she could do was weep again until she was finally granted sleep by her twisted mind…


	11. It's a deal

_Thud… Thud… Thud…_

"Ow!" Faye awoke with a sharp yelp.

She leapt up into a sitting position and rubbed the back of her leg thoroughly to rid of the sharp pain spreading through her calf. She looked around, confused, to find the cause of her infliction and found a glossy, ruby red apple sitting alone on the floor.

"Does that mean you're awake yet?" Kian's teasing voice called into the tree.

Grabbing Kians' jacket, Faye crawled on all-fours to the edge of the tree and peered downwards to the greenery below; Kian had just launched another apple into the air and Faye was forced to quickly duck to avoid being hit.

Kian smiled, amused, "Ah, there you are!"

Faye grunted, moving up again, "Stop that! You nearly hit me again!"

"I know." Kian sent her a cocky smirk before turning away, tossing the last apple in his possession into the air and catching it again.

Faye's jaw dropped in offence, as did her brow, and then she growled to herself irritably; how dare he be so blatantly difficult and rude! Faye stuffed the apple into the sleeve of her dirtied and torn leotard and carefully climbed back down the tree to meet Kian on the luscious floor of the forest which smelt of dampness and glistened from the remains of last night's storm.

"What time is it?" Faye asked, once she had landed on her feet.

Kian swallowed the chunk of mushy apple in his mouth, "Seven. I let you lie in - I know women need their beauty sleep."

Faye just folded her arms and sent him an impatient stare. Where had this bratty, rude attitude come from all of a sudden? He was so different, last night, when he gave her his jacket. Speaking of which, Faye realised she still had it over her shoulder and decided to fold it up and launch it at the back of his head.

"_Thanks_," Faye bitterly said, "it was wet, but still…"

Kian picked it up, brushing it down, "Yes, well, I very well wasn't going to sleep in a wet jacket… plus you had all the tears and such… I had to do something seemingly nice at the time or else we'd have never gone to sleep."

Faye was utterly appalled by his attitude and gasped, "I can't believe you! That was all an act just to get me to, what, _shut up_?"

Kian dressed himself in his jacket, smiling smugly, "I wasn't going to put it has blunt as that, but yes."

"You are"- Faye clenched her fists, her shoulders tensed, "you're just- I can't even- uurgghh!"

Growling like a hung-over bear, Faye spun on her heels and started marching away from Kian in the direction she had landed herself in. Unaware of where it was taking her, she just carried on walking in all her anger. Kian smirked to himself; he was unable to refrain himself from sneaking a perverted glance at her bottom in the leotard she was forced to wear.

"That's not the way to Fennella, you know, red." Kian called out, pleased with himself.

Faye brought herself to a stop, keeping her back to Kian so that he couldn't recognise the frustration on her face. Faye went to turn right, but Kian stopped her once again.

"Wrong. Again." He spoke, his voice filled with entertainment.

Faye sighed loudly and spun to face him, "Can't you just take me there then?

"Look," Kian sighed, still amused, "I'd love to help, but Orvin will literally _slit my throat _if I don't go back. I at least have to make it look convincing."

"What?" Faye asked apprehensively.

"Well, that I tried to go after you. Unfortunately, in the sudden wrath of the storm, I lost your tracks and, well… you got away. Sound good?" Kian leant against a nearby tree and took another chomp from his apple.

"So…" Faye twiddled her fingers, "you're not going to take me back?"

Kian shook his head, swallowing, "What would be the point? The Guards know you were there. You'd just be bad for business."

Faye slowly approached him, "Will you take me?"

"I told you, red," Kian sighed, leaning up once again, "I really can't…"

"I can pay you." Faye blurted out without even thinking.

Kian stopped moving, eyebrow raising, and then he slowly turned to face her to reveal his interest in the offer. It had definitely roused him.

"I'm the _Priestess of Luahth. _If you take me to Fennella, and I can sort all this craziness out - I'll pay you enough so that you can have your own Castle if you wanted it." Faye moved towards him in her moment of passionate convincing.

Kian faced her fully, "With a moat?"

Faye almost chuckled, "Yes! And a bridge! No, _two _bridges."

Kian looked to the tree beside him, as if it had suddenly become the ultimate fascination in his life, and scratched at the bark with his fingertip as he mused. Faye's hopeful eyes grew wider with each millisecond that passed and her hands were clutched together so tight that the circulation threatened to cut off.

"Fine." Kian finally announced.

Faye smiled widely, "Really?"

"Of course. I'm a man of business, and this is a fair offer." Kian spoke, hiding his mad excitement at the thought of all his riches-to-be.

"Then it's settled. It's a deal." Faye nodded conclusively.

She then put her left and right forefingers in between her lips and, breathing in, she blew a long, silky whistle that rustled through the trees and scanned the area for at least a mile. Kian smiled faintly with impress; he wasn't aware that she could whistle.

Faye sent him a cocky little gesture with her eyebrows, "Something I learnt back at the Circus."

Kian smirked, eyeing Faye up and down in a moment of flirtatious admiration, but was interrupted when three magnificently sized horses broke through the bushes and entered the clearing where they both stood; Kian nearly fell back into a bush in surprise! Faye granted him mercy and refrained from laughing at him, but Kian had still noticed the amusement in her eyes.

"Hello, sir," Faye greeted the muscular, black horse, "thank you for coming."

The hefty horse whinnied, throwing its head up and down vigorously as if returning her friendliness. Kian, brushing himself down, was still standing at bay as he watched Faye work her magic - he still could never _really _accustom himself to it. It was amazing.

Faye turned to smile at Kian as she stroked the black horse, "Are you alright?"

Kian tugged on his collar proudly, "Certainly. I was going to suggest that, you know."

"Oh," Faye blinked at him, sarcastically innocent, "you can speak with horses too?"

Kian's face flattened, showing his disagreement with her mockery. Faye just giggled lightly and, turning to the horse, commanded it to lower down onto one knee so that she was able to jump up and mount it. Kian watched secretly in amazement.

"Well, come on then," Faye called to him, as her horse stood upright and she grasped its mane, "time is of the essence. You want your Castle, don't you?"

Kian rubbed his hands hungrily together as he approached the grey horse, "I certainly do…"

He mounted the horse with ease and slapped it lightly on its neck, forming a mutual agreement between man and animal. Kian always preferred it that way, especially with a horse he hadn't met before.

"Now, which way did you say was Fennella?" Faye looked to him as her horse impatiently trotted sideways.

Kian looked over his shoulder, pointing at arms length, "That way. We should stop for supplies when we reach the next village, though. It's at least three days travel."

"Right," Faye sighed to herself, a little disappointed, "let's go. Yah!"

Faye tapped the inside of her leg against her horse's belly and, with a merry neigh, it bolted off into a run with Kian right beside them. The couple rode for all of thirty minutes before breaking out into the outskirts of the forest and finding the trail that would lead them across the dry lands.

"No stopping! We're sitting ducks out here and those Guards might still be patrolling!" Kian shouted over to Faye.

With a nod, Faye nudged her horse and leant down so that her chest was resting against the slope of its neck; this was her desire for more speed, which her horse distinguished and increased its power. They traversed the ever-sweeping sands of gold with the sparkle of the morning horizon following them in their flight; Faye had, at first, anticipated their journey to be something strenuous but her fancy in the scenery banished any of those doubts. The open land welcomed her like the arms of her father and the clear skies were her mothers' eyes, pure and fresh and leading her into freedom and tranquillity. Faye was definitely a cultivated young woman from her lessons back in Luahth, but seeing everything with her own two eyes was an entirely different experience and Faye was beginning to question her parents' preclusion for her to leave Luahth territory. Yes, the people hadn't been very impressive so far, but the magic's in the earth were a phenomenon alone! The sensation of such open, inviting freedom sent a rush of new life through Faye. The earth was beautiful.


	12. We can't trust anyone

They galloped for some time, several hours at least, when Faye's bottom was beginning to grow a little tender; she wasn't accustom to horse riding, as she was never allowed outside of her Kingdom. Kian, however, was at complete ease and it became clear that Faye was totally unqualified to match his capabilities and endurance levels. The sweltering heat beginning to be a burden on their skin and need for water, and eventually the blurred outline of a new village exposed itself through the waves of heat hovering mid-air. It was a chance for them to stop off, refresh their horses and change into clothing a little more conventional than what Faye had on - a twinkling and tattered leotard and matching high heels. Crossing the border, they discovered the town to be quaint and quiet with people wandering pleasantly along, basket on arm and elderly tending to their flowerpots and sweeping their doorsteps. It was late afternoon and the two of them knew that finding a settle for the night was becoming an essential as the day drew close to sun fall. They brought their horses to the watering pool where they could tie them securely and let them rest and dismounted them to scan the area, searching for some nearby shops where they could find supplies.

"Right," Kian spoke aloud as he adjusted his collar, "let's not take our time. We don't know how far the guards are."

Faye nodded in conformity as she elegantly slipped down from her horse, "We need food and water, and I need clothes."

Kian sent her an impish little glance, "Do you?"

Faye covered her blush with an angry pout, tugging hard on the rope of her horses reigns as she sealed it around an iron hook; why did he have to be so crude and childish? His uninhibited behaviour was honestly quite distracting for Faye. The two of them walked together through the village until they came upon a small shop window that was slightly dusty and displayed mannequins wearing different types of clothing. Kian led Faye inside and the musky air clung to the hairs in their noses while the damp air was, strangely, soothing to their sweaty necks.

"Hello?" Faye innocently called out.

There was no reply and Kian shrugged before beginning to surf the limited rails and the garments hanging from them on wooden pegs. He pulled out an attire and whistled to Faye for her opinion and when she spotted the hideous, fluffy white dress her nose wrinkled in distaste.

"What?" Kian asked in a mocking tone, "I thought it was very you..."

Faye just rolled her eyes and turned away to responsibly search for an outfit by herself. She managed to pick out an all-in-one cream playsuit styled with harem legs, no sleeves and a khaki wrap-around jacket that tied at the side by a cotton rope to keep her warm; for her feet she selected a sensible pair of leather ankle-boots. While she searched, Kian was busy prodding and picking at strange, ugly materials while expressing his disagreement by tilting his head from side to side and curling his lips.

"Why do women wear these things?" He inquired, holding out the subject, "I can understand the sexual appeal, but the sister-in-law of my best friends' cousin's fiancé's mother nearly passed out wearing one of these, once. True story."

Faye glanced back at him from her position at the counter to see him holding up a cotton, figure-hugging type of corset that forced her to hold back a light laugh. Poor Kian - he really had no clue. Suddenly, a loud 'slap' caught Faye off-guard and she gasped, jumping back, to see an old man standing on the other side of the desk with his gaunt and veiny hand rested upon the wooden counter. He was short, bald, and staring up at her with squinted eyes through his aquamarine spectacles.

"Wrapped?" He simply croaked.

"Uh," Faye laid the clothes down, eyeing him strangely, "No. Thank you. I'll wear them now."

"Mmhmm..." Was all he grunted.

Kian walked up beside Faye and they curiously watched the old man calculate the cost of the clothes with his pad and pencil, although they hadn't expected him to take quite so long. Eventually, Kian's patience snapped and he tore out a couple of pink, paper notes from his pocket and set them down upon the pad to end his laborious enumerating. The man, pausing, slowly peered up at them.

"Keep the change." Kian nodded, hiding his irritation.

The old man plucked up the money, with a simple nod, and Faye flashed an awkward smile as she scooped up the clothes and disappeared into the changing room to quickly swap them for her ridiculous 'Ladywren' outfit. It was embarrassing having to walk through the town in such a strange outfit. She was quite excited to be rid of it, but alas, there was a minor delay concerning the perverse zip trailing up the back of her leotard. She struggled, twisting her arm back and circling numerously in her attempt to undo it, but it simply wasn't going to be a one-person job. Faye sighed heavily as she forced herself to acknowledge the fact that she would need some help...

"Kian..." Faye's voice gloomily called.

"What?" He snipped carelessly.

Faye tapped her foot with annoyance, "I need your help with something..."

"What?" He grunted boredly.

Seconds passed before Kian pulled back the curtain to see Faye standing with her back to him, her hair pulled over her shoulder, to present him with a glittery silver zip.

He arched a presumptuous eyebrow as he deduced the situation for himself.

"I can't do it..." Faye sighed, then bit on her bottom lip with embarrassment.

Kian cleared his throat as he raised his hands and took the rim of her leotard in-between his fingers. As he slowly, softly pulled down the zip and the material spread apart to expose the soft, pale skin of her back, Kian felt an annoying fire rouse inside of him. He could smell her balmy hair and feel the silkiness of her skin - qualities that he found beyond attractive in a woman. He also found it a task to avoid admiring the slender but distinct shape of her dainty shoulder blades, curving inwards like tiny angel wings.

"Are you done?" Faye inquired sheepishly.

Blinking his way out of his trance, Kian tore his eyes from the lower half of her back, "Done."

Faye heard the curtain slide across and knew that she was alone once again. She released the heavy breath which she had been holding. That was quite a strange moment, but nothing Faye was going to read into unnecessarily. Finally, when she had slipped on the second boot, Faye flipped her hair back and slid the curtain back to step out and enjoy the new informality of her overall appearance. Kian turned to greet her, bored beyond belief, but when his eyes landed upon her he was quite surprised by how attractive the youthful redhead looked in the exotic travelling clothes.

"What?" Faye chirped, noticing how oddly he was watching her.

Kian blinked rapidly, changing his expression at once, "I've been waiting long enough. Let's go already."

Kian stormed off towards the door but Faye dismissed his irascible outburst as tiredness and impatience, and so followed obliviously. When they arrived outside, the calling of a man's' cheerful and captivating voice caught their attention and they looked across the street to see a small knot of people gathering around a stall, of which its contents were out of sight. Kian was already marching towards it before Faye had even suspected the sudden thirst in his eyes.

"Kian!" Faye called after him in annoyance.

Kian, of course, was far too occupied by the mystery of this popular stall to look back and answer her, and so Faye had no choice but to follow after him. Kian slid his way

past the shoulders blocking his view and he finally was able to see for himself what all the bustle was for; five delicate vials were set across the cloth-covered table, small

and tempting under the glow of the setting sun. Kians' eyes nearly popped out of his head when he recognised the orange liquid inside them.

"Kian!" Faye gasped, jostling her way through, "Kian, what are you doing?"

She came to a standstill beside him and took in the view before her, of the dainty bottles consisting of bright liquid so unfamiliar to her. It must have been a valuable treasure for Kian to be so elevated by it.

Faye looked up at him in confusion, "What is it?"

Kian looked to her, eyes effervescent and bold, "What is it? Dear girl, this is only the most beautiful, delicious and euphoric concoction ever to have been made! One drop and

it's like you're floating in heaven..."

Faye leant away from him in displeasure and shock, "You do drugs, Kian?"

Kian cocked his head round to look down at her, his face slightly screwed up as if to mock her into her place. People waved their arms, called out and flicked paper bills in

the air in their desperation to attain one of the rare vials for themselves. It was manic!

Kian shook his head, "Do you have any idea how much this stuff is worth? I could sell it for double in the Cities!"

"But," Faye glanced about warily, remembering to be discreet, "I'm paying you TRIPLE to what that could offer you! We don't have time for this!"

Kian tutted at her paranoid behaviour, brushing her off, and slapped a cluster of pink paper notes down upon the table before the ginger, scrawny man sitting upon his stool on the other side. Faye rolled her eyes and slid her way back through the crowed in utter disfavour of Kians' reckless and weak will-power. She didn't see the point in wasting precious time to haggle a substance so harmful to the beautiful life that the Gods had given everyone. Shaking her head and cursing Kians' silly behaviour in her head, she made her way out into the middle of the street and rubbed the back of her head, trying to reasonably search around for a food market somewhere. It was then that her eyes fell upon a man, standing distant from everyone at the entrance of an alleyway between two houses; he wore a burgundy cape with a hood and his balding head shone under the sun. A dark tattoo made of swirls and stripes trailed up from the neck of his robe and up his face to finish at the edge of his eyebrow. His eyes were locked directly upon her and Faye instantly felt another cloud of paranoia sweep over. Why was he watching her? Did he recognise her? Was he a thief? Did he know Kian from somewhere?

Faye casually and avoiding creating a scene turned to make for Kian, but the layers of people surrounding him was leaving it a massive task for her to reach him. She called his name to no prevail until she realised it was her own responsibility to save herself; she flipped the hood of her jacket up and walked briskly down the road to where their two horses were tied and drinking placidly from the pool and her fingers scrabbled at the ropes as she nervously tried to free them. Faye had just taken a hold of the reigns of her horse when a gloved hand clasped over her mouth and a stalwart arm wrapped around her middle, pinning her forcefully against the chest of whoever it was. Her eyes bolted open as she screamed against the material of the stifling glove and she desperately searched for Kian in the bustling crowed only a mere twenty feet away... He was never going to know that she was being kidnapped! Faye's captor dragged her backwards, into the mouth of an inky alleyway, and Faye snatched her arm out to cling onto the corner of the bricked wall to her right in an attempt to gain an extra few seconds for Kian to spot her; her captor grabbed her wrist and tore her hand away within those few seconds.

Faye staggered and wobbled her way forwards as the anonymous man who was panting and grunting behind her pushed her down into the dingy alley where a corner waited them up ahead. Fear compelled her and all she could think of was her safety and her mother - what was going to happen to her? The man eventually released Faye by throwing her around the next concrete bend and Faye lost her balance and crumpled to the floor like a cowardly dog; the sunlight was able to peer over the wall from its specific angle in the sky, and Faye's face lit up under its rays. She looked up, sniffing, to watch her captor step into the light. He was staring monotonously down at her.

"It's my lucky day," He spoke, sniggering once at the thought, "there's quite a fine reward on your head, Priestess."

Faye almost choked in shock; he had discovered her identity. She mentally kicked herself for not having worn her hood sooner, or at least wrapped something around her head to hide her unusual red hair. Silly, stupid, foolish girl! People were obviously going to be in agreement with indictment upon her... The man plucked his gloves from his hands and, walking towards Faye, yanked her roughly back up onto her feet by her arm and Faye challenged his authority by trying to pull free. It was no use. The man led her over to his brown horse that was standing obediently by the end of the wall.

"Please, don't do this," Faye begged nervously, "you've got it all wrong! Listen to me!"

The man just sneered, "Tell it to the counsellors, sweetness."

"No!" Faye cried, pushing back against the mans' arms, "let me go!"

"Stop!" Kian's voice barked into the scenery.

Faye and her captor both froze and looked over to see Kian standing, feet apart, fists clenched by his sides and breathing heavily; he must have been running after them. The sobriety in Kians' eyes was an element of his personality which had not yet been revealed to Faye and she was rather taken back by him; he was furious. An amalgamation of flattery and surprise sparked inside of Faye.

Kian's lips were thin in his vexation, "Release her."

The man just snorted, "Oh, is that all?"

Rolling his eyes, the bandit dismissed Kians' presence and continued with trying to force Faye up onto the back of his horse. All of a sudden, he released a sharp shout and Faye felt him release her, causing her to fall to the floor on all fours. She spun around at once to see Kian now holding the man against the wall with a dagger at his throat.

"You have very bad manners." Kian told him while glaring into his face.

The bandit soon gave his assent, holding his hands up, "Alright... you can take her. Just... put the dagger down."

Faye remained crouched upon the ground as she watched the profound situation before her. Seconds felt like minutes as the two men swapped distrust in their eyes and debated and plotted and to themselves until Kian finally dropped his defences and stepped away from the man with his dagger now by his hips. Kian sent him a last peremptory stare before confidently turning his back and walking towards Faye; but Faye suddenly inhaled and her face twisted in horror and changed Kians' belief of his dominance. The bandit snatched the dagger out from Kians' hand and just as Kian spun around to confront him, he was forced to leap back and evade the spiteful blade as the bandit slashed it across his chest.

"Kian!" Faye cried out.

Kian stumbled away a little groggy and clutched his hands to his chest in pain; blood stained his fingertips from the small gash now striped across his front. Defeating this

barbaric was becoming the opposite of a sinecure and Faye knew she had to act fast, or else Kian would suffer.

"Woops, I cut you," The man chuckled dirtily, treading towards Kian, "maybe that'll teach you to keep your nose outa' peoples business!"

Kian looked up at him through struggling eyes as he remained knelt on one leg and hugging his burning chest. The bandit was about to raise the dagger in the air to prepare for another strike when Kian was amazed to suddenly see his horse crash into him and trample over him on its way past; the bandit was left lying unconscious on the ground. Kian looked up in wonder to see Faye fall to the ground beside him, her face written like a Shakespeare tragedy play.

"Did you make the horse do that?" Kian asked and winced gently.

Faye nodded, touching his shoulder, "It was all I could think of..."

"N-no," Kian tried to hide his suffering, "it was very good. Ten points. Ah!"

Faye gasped at seeing him flinch again and looked around hopefully, desperately wishing for some sign of aid. All she could see was the half-lit alley and the sack belonging to the comatose bandit which had been torn from the horse as it hit him. She grabbed it to be resourceful.

"We need to get out of here," Kian announced through gritted teeth, "it's too risky."

"But Kian," Faye frowned at the discernible blood on his shirt, "you're really hurt"-

Kian cut her off, "There's a price on your head - we can't trust anyone. I'll be fine."

"But"-

"Faye," Kian looked up at her in exhortation, "do you want my help or not?"

After a moment of estimating the level of honesty in Kians' eyes, Faye finally agreed with a small nod and then helped Kian stand up by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and the weighty sack in her other hand. She helped him limp back through the alley as quickly as possible and took him over to his horse, where she watched him mount his saddle and subdue the urge to cry out again. He was really hurt, but if he wanted to carry on riding then what could Faye do to stop him? Saddling up, Faye looked over at Kian to enthusiastically wait for his suggestion.

"We ride until we make it to the Alfara Forest." Kian spoke sourly, stiff and pale.

Faye frowned but nodded, "How far?"

"Ten miles, give or take." Kian spoke as he took up the reigns.

Faye shook her head, "You can't travel th"-

Kian just sent her a disapproving glare and Faye stopped herself, for she knew that her worrying was inoperative against his adamance. Kian steered his horse round before

knocking it in the side and Faye followed with the same gesture and they both started riding back through the town, leaving what happened behind them but being chased by a new pressure now that they were aware of Fayes' sorely wanted life. They were going to have to be a lot more discreet, avoiding populated areas unless absolutely necessary and sticking to empty roads. Faye continuously glanced over at Kian for a quick assessment of his condition and each time he would present her with a cocky, frivolous grin that only concerned her furthermore; as if Kian would actually admit that he was anything but 'fine'.


	13. I like you now

Up ahead, the Alfara Forest waved to them on the border and the trees glowed a lime shade under the orange of the setting sun. The humidity of the Forest caused an automatic sweat to form on Faye and Kian and the music of the nature around them brought them a feel of safety and peace. Birds chirped softly, frogs ribbeted, crickets whistled and the air hissed mysteriously as the heat prickled in thin moisture clouds.

Faye glanced back to see Kian's horse slowing down and Kian appearing rather pale and faint. She stopped her horse at once and turned to trot back towards him, but Kian suddenly lost his balance and fell sideways off his horse in a limp, careless drop.

"Kian!" Faye gasped, jumping from her own horse.

She rushed to his side where she knelt down and put his head upon her knees. He was hot and sweating exceptionally more than Faye was and his complexion was almost yellow and clammy. He had a fever already. The slice across his chest wasn't deep enough to have damaged any vital organs but the cut itself had made him vulnerable to infection.

"Help me up..." Kian whispered croakily.

Nodding, Faye shuffled back and propped Kian up so that he could pathetically drag himself over to a nearby trick and lean himself against it; its chassis was grand and full, providing ultimate shelter and comfort to them both. Faye pulled the red bandana from around Kians' head and, scrunching it up into a ball, started to lightly dab at his neck and forehead to mop up the excess sweat.

"You're not in a good shape, Kian. I warned you." Faye tutted, more to herself than Kian.

Kian sniggered, "You really don't get out much, do you."

Faye just blinked owlishly at him and waited for him to continue.

"You're going to be looking for a… s-small patch of red leaves… shaped similarly to stars. They'll be near a-any ponds or streams." Kian explained, slowly and breathlessly, his eyelids threatening to close.

Faye shook his shoulder to keep him awake, "What are they?"

"Medicine..." Was all Kian could exhale.

He was unable to retain strength and consequently dropped into a light slumber and his head lolled to one side with his hands limp in his lap. Faye stared at him intensely, a saddened expression across her anxious and doubtful face. It was now her responsibility to help Kian - a life for a life. But the pressure that came with such an important duty was intimidating.

"Right," Faye nodded to herself, still in shock, "red leaves. Stars. Pond... No problem."

Faye's eyes glazed over with an entranced concentration, as well as panic, and she shakily rose to her feet to look around carefully. There was no sign of any red nearby. Looking to the two horses, she released a burdened huff.

"Don't leave him you two. I'll be back soon, ok?" Faye told them fretfully.

They both lifted their heads, acknowledging her request, and twiddled their ears in response before continuing to graze the dewy grass. Faye set off to search for these mysterious red star-leaves by listening astutely for the sound of trickling water or spotting any deer or birds assembling around a certain area. She moved beneath hanging vines and asymmetrical trees of different genus, over unusually bright flower beds and mud hills and she even spotted herself an incredible, gold lizard lazily strolling the arm of a tree. She had never seen anything like it! It was then that Faye heard the rushing of water and her heart swivelled as she leapt and skipped over the shrubbery towards the sound. There, at the base of a miniature waterfall, she immediately noticed the prominent red leaves clustered by the mount. She was clueless as to how much she was to collect and so she plucked several of them

and gripped them tightly in her fist as she ran back the way she came, eventually arriving in the calm grass area where Kian still remained asleep against the tree. Faye knelt down beside him with the leaves in her hands and, smiling proudly and excitedly, she held them up to him as if he were still awake.

"What do I do with them?" She asked him, expecting some sort of response.

He gave her nothing.

Faye slapped her hands down and grunted, "Don't do this... Please, please, please wake up! ... I don't know what I'm doing! Kian..."

She picked at his shirt as she opened his shirt in alarm and revealed the entirety of Kians' toned, bloody chest and the nasty gash across his flesh. Faye looked back and forth from his wound and the leaves, brain ticking and eyes trembling as the time grew shorter. What was she supposed to do? She mentally cried out for help, for some sort of sign, for anything! One of the horses suddenly arrived beside Faye and craned its neck downwards so that it could pinch the leaves between its teeth.

Faye gasped madly, "No! You can't eat it!"

The horse then, to her amazement, stepped forwards and released the leaves from its pearly jaw so that they fell and settled upon Kians' chest in a disarray. Faye paused as she slowly understanding that the horse was actually SHOWING her what she needed to do, and then, grinning brightly, she looked up at the horse with gleaming eyes and touched its cheek with appreciation. The horse gruffled gently before walking away and leaving her to finish the task at hand, which she did so quite swiftly by arranging the leaves along the trailing wound from left-to-right, prodding them lightly so that they were nicely fitted upon the damaged flesh. Faye then leant back on her feet and watched, hands in a prayer stance, and her hopeful eyes watching intently. Nothing was happening and Kian was still unconscious. Patience... patience... Faye ignored her fluttering stomach and scrabbled thoughts and narrowed her eyes at the leaves in desperation. She suddenly realised that an appreciation for Kian was dawning upon Faye. He might have been rude, obnoxious and shown her untrustworthy traits at the beginning of their journey, but after nearly being killed for her… Faye was starting to warm to him.

Faye peered back at the horse in dismay, "It's not doing anything..."

The horse just continued nibbling at the grass as if it hadn't heard her. Sighing, Faye crossed her legs and tapped her fingers anxiously while staring at Kian. Even in such a pale, weak state he was still dashingly handsome and rugged. Toned, tanned, skin like butter and his dark hair messy and thick, asking to be stroked. Although his reason for being there was money and a Castle with a moat and two bridges, Faye still believed that he wanted to be there for the cause of good morals. Kian was a nice person. Out of everyone she had met on her travels so far, Kian showed the most warmth and kindness. He was only in this state because he came to save her. Would someone really risk their life for the promise of wealth?

Faye soon calmed herself when she noticed that the leaves were melting away and transforming into a white gloop which nestled itself comfortably into the break of his flesh. When she felt assured, Faye took interest in the sack of the bandit and emptied it out onto the grass to observe its contents curiously, first of them being two black stones the size of baby apples. She also discovered a fur pouch of water, from which she quenched some of her thirst but knew she had to leave enough for Kian when he woke up, and some other items was a golden bracelet, a map, a dagger, some rope, dried bread in a silk napkin and a tiny pocket mirror...

When Kian finally woke up, he was comforted by the pleasure of a tender green light and the sound of Faye humming beautifully with the exotic jungle sounds. Opening his eyes fully, he saw her sitting cross-legged over two, glowing stones while toying with a little bracelet in her hands. He quietly peered down at his chest and saw that it had completely healed, save for the silky scar stretching where the wound had once been. He took a moment to secretly watch and admire Faye as she engrossed herself in the little bracelet; her voice was sweet and soothing. He believed he was unnoticed, until one of the horses lifted its surprised head and huffled at him, catching the attention of Faye.

"Kian!" She exclaimed, blinking merrily at him.

Sitting himself up, he smiled handsomely, "You did it, then."

Faye crawled over to him and sat back on her feet, "You passed out before you could tell me what to do with them, but the horse showed me."

"You know," Kian creased his brow, "to anyone else that would sound utterly insane..."

"And look," Faye ignored his comment and grabbed something from behind her, thrilled, "I found food and water."

She held out the soggy, soft pouch and loaf of hard bread to him and he eventually accepted it when his stomach growled. Faye watched him drink and eat until he was satisfied.

"I'm sorry." Faye then spoke with a new frown.

Kian wiped his mouth dry, "What for?"

She nodded to his chest, "Getting you hurt. I saw him watching me and tried to find you, but the crowed was too thick and I thought I'd just wait by the hor"-

"Stop," Kian held his hand up, "you talk too much."

Faye's head jolted in surprise and she blinked at his hand, reviewing whether to interpret his statement as an insult or not. She didn't.

Moving on, Faye tilted her head, "How do you feel?"

"Like a person who just healed from a lot of blood loss," Kian snickered, sitting up from the tree, "how do you feel?"

"Relieved." Faye honestly answered.

Kian looked at her curiously, "Relieved?"

She nodded modestly, "That you're ok."

Kian fell into a flattered silence and silently studied Faye; she, in turn, just gazed back at him with truth in her eyes. Those eyes... Every time he saw them that way, it was

like he was seeing them for the first time all over. The glowing stones beside Faye distracted them from the strange, intimate silence between them as they died out and returned to their black state; Faye took this as another opportunity to excitedly share her discovery of them with Kian.

"And these," She shook them in her cupped hands, "you hit them together and they start glowing. I did it at least two hours ago. I suppose they go out after a while."

Kian smiled vaguely at her innocence and also over the amusing thought of how long it took for Faye to realise what exactly the stones were for. He envisioned her throwing them about, poking them and even sniffing them as her methodical research tactics.

"Borba stones. I take it you've not heard of them?" Kian rhetorically asked, inclining his cocky head.

Faye rolled her eyes, standing up in frustration, "I know a lot of things. Useful things that are relevant to my life back in Luahth. If I were a ruffian, travelling the lands, or a pilgrim surviving on the goodness of the earth then I would probably have heard of them. But I am not and therefore do not, so forgive me for not being educated enough for you."

Kian was taken back by her assertive outburst; raising his eyebrows, he leant forwards to look up at her as she paced away from him and over to the horses to take solitude in

gently stroking them. The rays of the sunset shone down through the forest canopy and cast dapples over her body and made her hair shine through their streams. She appeared as graceful as a Goddess as she stood there, lost in her own thoughts.

"I didn't mean it like"- Kian paused, struggling for the correct choice of words, "I just meant- I've just never met someone so naive."

Faye snickered, surprised, "I could say the same about you."

"Me?" Kian stood up in ascendant tone, "I think you need to look up the definition of naive, red..."

"No," Faye leant her arm on the horse as she sent him a smug look, "I'm perfectly competent when it comes to vocabulary, thank you. I might be naive towards stones and the evils of society, but you're naive in concern with peace and morals and, well, overall right and wrong."

"Pah!" Kian folded his arms, amused, "is that so? I believe it's this unpeaceful, immoral and bad-doer that granted you your freedom last night from those Guards."

"Only because I bribed you with money," Faye scoffed, shaking her head, "that's not selfless in the slightest. You're naive, too, Kian."

"I don't even know why I'm listening to this," Kian chuckled as he looked around in amazement, "you've lived like a hermit all your life."

"And you've been a thieving, lost soul all of yours!" Faye snapped in offence, her eyes stalking him, "my living conditions may have been more limited than yours, but I still know who I am and can appreciate the goodness in the world."

"Red," Kian sighed, pretending to be indifferent, "I've searched for this goodness you like to rant about... I must have pretty damn bad luck or you're just living in a dream world, because I haven't found much of it."

"Because you don't want to," Faye lectured him in a sassy tone.

Kian's face wrinkled with a sudden fury, "Try having to fend for yourself at the age of seven after your parents were killed by the Kings' Guards."

It felt as if an invisible fist had struck Faye hard in the stomach; she froze, lips narrowing, as the truth of Kians' words lingered in her mind. She hadn't expected it. And now, she suddenly felt terribly guilty.


	14. You are the spirit

Faye bit on her bottom lip with embarrassment. Kian had suffered, and Faye hadn't even suspected it. Now it explained his personality and attitude towards the world, but to imagine something so sad happening to such a confident and energetic person didn't make sense to her. He was a glowing human being, with wonderful and honest eyes...

"I..." Faye paused, clearing her throat, "I'm sorry. I didn't realise"-

"No," Kian half-laughed and dismissed her with a fling of his arm, "don't give me your sympathy. I don't need it. I haven't told people that part of my story, purely because all they do is look at you like you're some poor, abused animal that's expected to roll over and die."

Faye withdrew into a guilty and embarrassed silence as she watched him casually walk around the grassy clearing, kicking the earth and rubbing his neck. He was obviously distressed by the memories flooding back to him.

"Don't pretend like you haven't seen it, red," He sighed, looking at her, "people aren't good. It's that simple."

Faye's eyes glistening philosophically, "Why did they kill them?"

"Because we were robbed and couldn't pay our taxes," Kian snickered bitterly at his feet, "it was for money."

He went silent again while struggling to subdue his emotions from Faye by kicking the grass some more and pretending to show grand interest in the trees. Faye could see that he was upset.

"That's when I told myself, no matter what it took, I would always have enough money. I hate it, but it's what kills people if they don't have it. I learnt that the hard way when they were shot, dead, to the ground." Kian sighed in a moment of thoughtfulness and respect to his deceased family.

His outlook on life all made perfectly logical now that Faye had heard his story. No wonder he was so money-driven, demoralized and willing to commit crimes to earn himself a 'crust'. Maybe the world really was a cruel place, a place that Faye had dreamt of exploring for so long that she was ignorantly ignoring the obvious. Faye had wanted it to be so perfect... Eventually, Faye spoke again and walked towards Kian, "I will give you what I promised. You will be rich, Kian, and you'll never again have to worry about your fears of a poor

life."

Kian pulled his head up to meet his eyes with hers; the honesty radiating from her green eyes were like a pair of Angel wings floating towards him.

"I know it sounds strange, but the Priestess and I were... unusually close... Her father, the King, was like a father to me and when he died, it crushed my heart just as much as it did the Priestess herself..." Faye's eyes fell to the floor sorrowfully as she thought about her dad, "I cannot try to understand the pains of losing both parents, but one

is enough to have an idea. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that alone."

When Faye looked back to Kian she expected him to castigate her with his eyes again and accuse her of sending him unwelcome pity, but instead he was just staring at her in a warm, gentle phase of apprecition. He looked far from angry and deep in a moment of consideration. That strange, fuzzy feeling returned to Faye's stomach again and she feared for a blush growing on her cheeks. Kian, also, recognised the invisible electricity congregating between them but continued to watch Faye wistfully and wait for her next move.

CRACK

The snapping of a nearby branch caused Kian to immediately spin around, fists up, and Faye to stumbled back against the tree trunk behind her where she leant against it worriedly. They both waited, quite, to uphold their concealment from whoever or whatever was approaching them; the bushes ruffled and another few twigs snapped as the individual drew closer and Faye held her breath apprehensively in the intensity of the moment. She felt like her eyes would pop out of her head at any moment as she prayed for the 'thing' to be civil and friendly and-

A harmless deer broke out into the clearing, its ears flicking happily as it wandered past the horses. Kian's body relaxed and he sighed while rolling his eyes to the sky in relief and slight annoyance; Faye almost giggled. It was just when Kian had turned to face her that he recognised the sudden modification in her expression, for she now looked terrified.

"What?" The dumbfounded Kian asked.

He looked over his shoulder and, out of nowhere, the jagged tip of a spear shot out from the greenery to point directly at his nose. Kian froze with a nervous gulp and

held his hands up in an act of philanthropy and Faye, feeling something sharp prod her shoulder, looked back and gasped at seeing a tanned, half-naked jungle man standing there with a slender sword pointed at her; Faye almost fell over as she rushed out from beside the tree and over to where Kian stood. She grabbed onto his shoulder helplessly, using him as her shield, while allowing her eyes to roam all around them in a panic.

"Kian..." Faye whispered in fret, "who are they?"

"Jungle natives. The Wai-Wai. Thought to be a myth." Kian answered under his breath while staring at them menacingly.

"Huh," Faye sarcastically mimicked an impressed person, "what a nice surprise... Are they going to kill us?"

Kian tilted his head, unsure, "I hope not."

As they discussed their fate, a tall and muscular man stepped out from the trees and strode towards them with his head held high and shoulders pulled back nobly. His dark, platted hair trailed down his back and his dark skin was decorated in silver swirls, stripes and symbols from some sort of paint. He wore a golden arm-bracelet and only a thin piece of material around his hips to cover himself up. His eyes, grey and shocking, landed on Faye at once and he started to examine her like an unsure cat, bobbing his head up and down.

"Uh," Faye chuckled nervously, "what's he doing?"

Kian didn't answer and raised an eyebrow at the odd native as he watched him investigating Faye. He then suddenly pushed Kian aside and grabbed Faye by the wrist so that she cried out and Kian twirled around to attack him - but the natives grabbed him from behind and held him firmly in place. He struggled against them but they were too strong. Faye mightily tugged on the natives' grip as he held her wrist but her efforts were inefficacious against his muscles.

"What do you want?" Faye gasped up at him, leaning forwards as she tugged, "let me go!"

The native then bent forwards, arching his back, and leant down to start sniffing Faye's palm like a curious dog searching for his 'treats' and then delivered several sharp licks as if tasting her salty skin. Faye winced in discomfort and looked away in prayer that he wasn't about to bite off her fingers.

"Hey, stop that!" Kian barked at him, "get your hands off her!"

Faye's face wrinkled in disgust and she groaned to herself while desperately waiting for the man to stop covering her hand in saliva. When he finally did, however, his head cocked up to look at her with his wide and confusedly amazed eyes. Faye peered down at him fearfully. What on earth was wrong with him?

"Cujumba!" He gasped, suddenly dropping to the floor.

He pressed his face onto the dirt with his arms outstretched over his head and the rest of his klan instantaneously followed his lead and equally dropped into their own stance of worship. Kian looked around at them on the floor in wonder and Faye just blinked uncertainly at the reliability of her safety. It was bizarre.

Faye glanced to Kian, "What are they..."

"I think they... I think they're worshipping you." Kian scoffed in surprise.

"Worship?" Faye was stunned, "b-but"-

"Cujumba..." A milky, female voice spoke out.

A slender, tall woman sleeked out from the bushes with a wooden walking stick reaching above her dark, beautiful head, covered in feathered and beads that created music as they knocked together. She came to stand before Faye and blinked her placid but shocking grey eyes at her like a lethargic feline.

"In our tongue, this means 'the spirit'," She informed them in a gracious voice, "you are the spirit."

She inclined her head to Faye and tilted her cane forwards as a gesture of deference. Faye's jaw wagged up and down but she was particularly speechless at that moment.

"We have been waiting for you," The native woman smiled to reveal her pearly white teeth, "it is a joyous day. Come."

With that, the woman turned, flicking her beaded hair over her shoulder, and started walking back into the hot jungle; Faye and Kian looked to each other in an act of debate. Neither of them were entirely sure about the safety of going with her, but the fact that they hadn't killed them already was a promising sign. Faye finally took the responsibility of choosing their fate and, with a nod, stepped over the native man still bowing on the ground before her and followed the woman into the thickness of the forest. Kian hastily rushed off after her. They walked for a while until the female native came to a stop at the broad trunk of a mighty tree taking up a copious amount of space in the forest. It was ancient with strange markings in the bark and thick, entangled roots sweeping up and through the earth and then back down again to create arches and walls. Kian stopped beside Faye and accompanied her in gawking at the impressive yet ambiguous tree; they were equally stunned when they watched the native woman knock the tip of her stick against one of the huge roots, for it to then slither away and down into the earth to reveal an open doorway in the tree itself.

"Did that just happen?" Kian uttered with a pale face.

Faye could only nod, for words were a distant memory to her at that moment. The tree had actually moved, as if alive! The native woman looked back to them with a consolatory smile and a nod before entering the dark opening of the tree and leaving them alone as lost idiots. They were still totally shocked!

Kian glanced sideways at Faye, "Does she want us to..."

Again, Faye just nodded while being occupied on trying to organise her sanity. When Kian took the first step, however, she snapped back into reality and grabbed his arm protectively.

"I'll go first," Faye told him protectively, "they don't seem to like you very much."

As Faye passed him, Kian sent her an offended little wrinkle of his nose as he contemplated on her comment. He glanced behind him to see the rest of the Wai-Wai klan slowly treading through the forest, pushing branches and leaves back to clear their path while avoiding damaging any of the wildlife; Kian decided that, if Faye was right, it was a wise idea to hurry after her again and refrain being left alone with them.

_**Author's Notes:**__ I want to apologise HUGELY about the mix-up of chapters; I have no idea how this happened but evidently I'm a dummy…_

_In response to KrazyKae's question about "fair eyes" – I meant what I had written. If you had read the rest of the chapter, you should have realised why Junyas has deceiving eyes… He looks nice, but is he?_

_And for NotKrazyKae – NO it did not suddenly change. Faye IS the Priestess but Kian doesn't know it. She lied to him, got it? XD_


	15. To protect you

He followed Faye deep down underneath the earth where they treaded a soiled path ignited by the fluorescent glow of beautiful green beetles that clung to the muddy, root-covered tunnel around them to supply guidance. Faye was in her element and couldn't stop staring at them and their attractive glow.

When they finally reached the end of the tunnel, they arrived in an amazing cave-like chamber formed from wood, stone and mud. Faye looked up and her jaw dropped in awe as she realized that the roof was, in fact, a large pond on the surface of the earth. They were _under _water? And it wasn't falling down on them? How was it possible? The sunlight on the surface of the pond shone down through the water and cast silvery ripples on the earthy floor and walls and supplied enough light for everyone to see clearly.

"How is it doing that?" Faye unconsciously asked in astonishment.

"Mother nature protects us," The female Wai-Wai turned and answered, "just as we protect her offspring – the earth. It is a spiritual pact."

Kian was so distracted by his gawking at the scenery around him that he accidentally wandered backwards into Faye; she stumbled forwards to then quickly shoot an impatient glare at him, to which he held his hands up innocently. They both then realised that they were suddenly surrounded by other members of Wai-Wai Klan who had entered the large chamber through smaller tunnels. They were standing at the cave's walls, at a distance, as they cautiously tested the safety of their guests.

"It is Cujumba!" The female Wai-Wai exclaimed and raised her spear excitedly in the air, "Cujumba!"

Enthused whispers and mutters echoed around the cave and Faye and Kian circled in unison as they watched the Wai-Wai gradually step out into the light of the large water-roof three hundred feet above them all. Faye finally turned to the female warrior, hands fumbling together anxiously.

"Why have you brought me here?" She asked in a soft and respectful tone.

The dark-skinned woman extended her large hand to Faye and, after a few seconds of anticipation, Faye placed her own dainty hand in the palm of it. The woman bowed down to express her harmlessness and then guided Faye into the middle of the room where she brought her before a miniscule, single bulb that was growing from the earth. It was the green stem of some sort of flower that hadn't bloomed yet. Kian watched carefully as Faye studied the innocent plant.

"What is it?" Faye asked calmly, leaning down.

The Wai-Wai woman moved around the plant in wide, side-ward strides much like an excited crab, her hands outstretched and her fingers wiggling passionately. Faye just watched her in confusion.

"Every year, The Mother Flower blooms and blesses our people. It symbolises the continuous life of the earth. It feeds our souls… But this year, it has not bloomed." The woman explained in a mournful and frightened tone.

Faye looked up at her, "Why not?"

"It is the consequence of humans," She spoke sadly, her huge eyes glistening in sorrow, "they neglect Mother Nature. They treat the earth cruelly. It is slowly, gradually, draining its life. We have been waiting for the Cujumba to heal The Mother Flower."

"And… that's me?" Faye's eyebrows lifted nervously, "you want _me _to _heal_ it?"

The woman suddenly smiled and nodded vigorously. The other members of the Wai-Wai exploded into hopeful gossip once again and Faye scanned her eyes over them, feeling the pressure growing on her.

"I…" Faye shook her head regretfully, "I don't know how. I really don't think you've got the right person"-

"No," The woman waved her hand out impatiently to stop Faye, "it is _you_. There can only be one on this earth at a time. Mother Nature brought you to us."

Kian sensed someone approaching him from his left and, moving his eyes carefully, he spotted three young Wai-Wai children creeping up towards him with fascination. He just flashed them an awkward and uneasy little smile and then attempted to forget their company, although this became a task as they began to pick and poke at his trousers.

"You have a connection to the earth," The woman continued to convince Faye, "with the spirits and the creatures."

Faye was stunned that the Wai-Wai woman knew about her 'gift'. There were only a handful of people, including Orvin and Kian, who were aware of her abilities with animals.

"You are Cujumba…" The woman stained her voice in desperation.

"I"- Faye shook her head, dumbstruck, "I"-

"At the beginning of time," An old woman's cracking, weak voice spoke out, "Mother Nature created The Sun and The Ocean. They fell in love."

Faye and Kian looked over to see a tall, frail elderly woman with long, white hair stretching to her knees. She held a wooden walking stick in her right hand and used it to balance herself as she wandered towards the centre of the cave where Faye stood. Her eyes were white, completely blind, and yet she was without guidance. It was as if she was using her other senses to locate Faye.

"They made love for ten nights and ten days, and this made 'the spirit', whom we know as Cujumba," The old woman spoke in a mystifying voice, "it lives in the body of one human. When each body reaches its end, the spirit continues, continuing to live amongst mankind to protect all of Mother Nature's offspring."

The old woman came to a stop beside Faye and her chin lifted as her defective eyes attempted to locate her face, as if they had forgotten about their detriment. Faye couldn't tear her own eyes away from her face; she felt like her soul was being drawn out.

"You are Cujumba. We can feel it." The old woman whispered in delight.

She reached her trembling, bony arm out towards Faye and Kian took several steps forwards to prepare himself if she would need protection; but instead, the woman simply rested her hand atop of Faye's head, as if feeling her mind.

The old woman sighed sadly, "Only you can help the Mother Flower, now."

Faye felt the sudden and strange urge to close her eyes. She felt an unusually compassionate warmth underneath her touch and happiness swelled in her solar-plexus, causing her heart to flutter. When she opened her eyes, the woman had removed her hand and Faye noticed that tears shimmered along the rim of her white, ghostly eyes. Faye knew she had to help. Looking back at Kian in a state of preparation, he just watched her intensely, ready to help if she needed it. Faye inhaled a deep breath as she turned and lowered down onto the ground to sit on her knees and gazed down at the poor flower. She reached out to curve her palms around it and once again closed her eyes to focus on the powerful warmth spreading through her veins. Faye wasn't certain how she even knew what she was doing, but it just felt right.

Kians' eyes widened as he watched, in a state of worship almost, as Fayes' hands begun to glow a dull golden colour. Seconds later, the plant started wriggling almost unnoticeably, and then gasps and moans of liberation echoed around the cave from the Wai-Wai when it started to slowly grow in length. Faye's hands remained curved around the stem which had now grown to an amazing length of nearly a whole foot, which continued further. Tiny white buds spawned from the green stem and grew up into the air to blossom and their petals opened outwards to form large, beautiful flowers. The stem grew and grew until, at last, it stopped at an incredible ten feet where a mother flower blossomed as its head and grew to the size of five human heads with dozens of magnificent sloped petals. In its core, several tiny sticks of pollen sprouted with golden-glowing tips which emitted strange sparkles that floated up into the air and then evaporated as each new sparkle was given birth.

The last thing Faye remembered was seeing a brilliant light in her mind which hugged her in arms of protection and unconditional love. Then, she was thrown into exhaustion and felt the softness of the earth against her cheek. Kians' voice echoed in the distance of her warm, sleepy mind just before everything disappeared…

Faye came to consciousness and recognised the smell of the earth instantly. With her eyes still shut, she then became familiar to the sound of a crackling fire and felt the warmth of a fur blanket covering her body and underneath her was a cushioned base. She finally opened her eyes to see the low ceiling formed from earth and roots and watched the shadows from the small fire play out different shapes against the brown dirt. She inhaled deeply, remembering what had happened, and curiously turned her head upon her pillow. Kian was sitting in a wooden seat, staring at the fire in deep thought. Had he stayed by her side, the whole time she was asleep?

Faye smiled to herself before calling him, "Kian?"

Kian jumped from his philosophical mind at hearing her sweet voice and looked over at her in relief. He immediately stood up and moved over to the bed, where he sat next to Faye to look down at her.

"How long have I been sleeping?" She asked as she stretched her legs.

"About three hours. What did you do?" Kian narrowed his eyes at her in wonder.

Faye looked upwards again as she tried to form a logical answer… but she couldn't. It happened to unexpectedly and without Faye even knowing what she was capable of. It was pure luck.

"I have no idea…" She admitted, sighing lightly, "but it felt similar to when I'm around the animals. Like I gave it a part of something inside me."

Kian watched her beautiful face under the light of the fire; her eyes were filled with passion and love. She was gorgeous, inside and out. Never had he met such an unusual person before. She was so special.

"It was beautiful," Faye concluded, looking back to his eyes, "I'm sorry if I scared you."

Kian smirked, covering himself, "Scared? Me? You should know that nothing scares me by now, red."

Faye smiled faintly in false amusement, but deep down she daren't admit that she was rather disappointed that he hadn't been frightened for her safety. As Faye struggled to help herself sit up, Kian leant forwards and held her arm for extra support. Faye glanced at him, pausing, and Kian quickly retracted his hand. Faye then thought about her near abduction and how Kian had risked his life to save her… Was that all about money?

"Why did you risk yourself for me in the village?" Faye suddenly asked him in a warm tone.

Kian reacted to her question with no expression, although his eyes transformed into solemn pools. Faye waited for his answer in anticipation; his eyes told her that it was for a purpose other than greed, so why couldn't he just say it? Why was it so hard for him to admit that he was a good-hearted man?

Kian didn't break their gaze, "Why do you think?"

Faye shrugged vaguely as she sat comfortably propped, "Because… we had an agreement?"

Faye was taken back when Kian suddenly brought his hand up and, hesitantly but eventually, brushed some of her brilliant red hair back from her cheek. Faye just sat there and allowed him to inflict his gesture of affection, the fire reflecting upon his handsome face and large arms. She couldn't stop watching him.

"You're special, red," Kian spoke in a tone which Faye found quite handsome, "I saw it right away. I don't know why, but… I always had this feeling, like-… like I needed… to protect you."

Faye's cheek flushed a gentle red and her eyes shimmered with flattery. She almost wanted to grin at hearing such kind words. It was the first bit of kindness she had found since she had left her Kingdom three days ago. But now Faye suddenly felt awful for having lied to Kian about who she was… He thought she was the Priestess' assistant when, in fact, she _was _the Priestess. Would he forgive her when he eventually discovered the truth?

The two of them were staring deeply and sensually into each other's inviting eyes when the sound of someone's heavy footsteps coming down the earth tunnel echoed into the room. They tore away from each other to look at the doorway, where a brown cloth hung as a replacement for an actual door, just in time to see a male Wai-Wai slide it aside to poke his head in. The room was far too small for him to enter and so he remained half outside as he spoke.

"We heard your voices," He simply said, "your things are ready."

With a nod, he steered backwards and let the blanket fall back in place to return their privacy to them. Faye and Kian's eyes met again but this time they felt slightly embarrassed and eager to accelerate the situation.

Kian awkwardly stood up in a rush, "I'll uh- ahh!"

He had forgotten how low some areas of the ceiling were and had accidentally stood tall and banged the top of his head on a sloping root; Faye had to bite the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing.

Kian nearly blushed as he grabbed his sore head, "I'll leave you to get dressed."

With that, he briskly made his exit and silently cursed himself as he walked down the tunnel towards the Mother Flower cave. He had made such a fool of himself!

"Smooth, Kian…" He growled to himself.


	16. Do you trust me? VAGUE LEMON

Once Faye was dressed and had combed her hair out, she left the small bedroom and was accompanied by a male Wai-Wai back into the Mother Flower chamber to find many of the Wai-Wai praying on the ground around the beautiful plant. It was still glowing magnificently and letting off sparkles into the air. Kian was waiting by the exit on the opposite side of the cave and at seeing Faye step into the light he smiled faintly to himself where no one could spot him. As Faye strolled past the enormous flower, her eyes were spellbound upon its beauty. She felt familiar with it, particularly as she had gifted it with her own energy to rescue it.

"Cujumba…" The familiar voice of a woman spoke.

Faye tore her eyes away from the entrancing flower and stopped before the young female Wai-Wai who had led them into the cave and the old woman Wai-Wai who had helped Faye locate her strength. The elderly woman stepped towards her and bowed her head respectfully.

"The Mother will always be watching you," She whispered heartily, "and you shall always be in our hearts."

Faye nodded back to her with a loving smile, "Thank you… Will I see you again some day?"

The younger Wai-Wai woman smiled at her, "Hopefully not. It all depends."

Faye sent her a confused and slightly injured look, unable to realise what she meant.

"If mankind continues to mistreat the earth, the Mother may bring you to us once again. Hopefully, she will not."

Faye dismissed her worries and nodded, "I understand… Thank you for your hospitality, but now I must be going."

The two Wai-Wai women stepped aside to grant Faye her freedom and they turned to watch her walk over to Kian, who greeted her with a small smile and a more flirtatious look in his eyes than Faye had ever seen before.

"All better?" He asked, almost cockily.

Faye smiled back, lifting her chin, "Yes."

"The horses are waiting outside for us," Kian turned, nudging his head for her to follow, "We've got a Priestess to save."

Faye nodded enthusiastically, although her heart sank from her persistent guilt. Why did she feel bad? She couldn't have told him the truth. At first, all Kian cared about was money and what he could make from every opportunity… but was he trustable now? Should she confide in him?

Arriving out in the humid Alfara forest again, two Wai-Wai men were standing watchfully by their two horses which were now carrying two singular bags that hung from their saddles. Faye peeked inside to see fruits and bread and, in a separate skin pouch, plenty of water – gifts from the tribe for their travels ahead.

"Thank you." Faye said to the two men.

They simply bowed their heads before stepping away to watch their Cujumba and her sidekick mount their horses and prepare to leave. Faye cast them a final look of gratitude and then nudged her horse with her leg so that it kicked off into a light gallop across the earth, Kian right beside her. It took them several minutes to finally break free of the Alfara forest and return to the irritating dry lands where the Sun poured down her dangerous love upon them. Faye glimpsed skywards to where the Sun stood; if the mythical story about the Sun and the Ocean making love was true then did that mean she was her parent? Faye shrugged the idea aside, finding it absurd, and leant forwards to increase the speed of her powerful horse.

They travelled hard and fast, stopping only to give themselves and their horses a moment to drink and eat. Kian started to find pleasure in showing Faye new and fascinating things which, to him, weren't actually that exciting as he had seen them many times before. He stopped to show her the Dragon Mountains, which had naturally formed the similar figure of a Dragons' long body and head through years of weathering and earth movement. Faye was amusingly ecstatic.

"It really does look like a Dragon!" Faye grinned as she stood, gazing up at it.

Kian watched her silently, smiling at her. He loved how she saw the world differently to everyone else and found delight in the smallest of things. It made him feel refreshed and even helped him to gradually learn that people took so much for granted.

"Doesn't it?" Faye chirped, turning to look at Kian.

Kian quickly looked away from her and, clearing his throat, threw on a casual expression in hopes that she hadn't seen the way he was watching her. He just nodded calmly up at the Dragon figure.

"Yep. Sure does. Probably won't be here in another hundred years or so." He stated thoughtfully.

"What a pity," Faye tilted her head as she wondered, "our great-great-great grandchildren won't be able to see it."

Kian glanced at her again, this time foolishly wondering if she meant _their _grandchildren, as a couple, or separately. Faye suddenly realised the impression she may have given off and with wide eyes set to correcting her statement.

"Yours, with your future wife, whoever she may be," She clumsily scrambled for words, "and mine, with my future husband – although that's a long way away."

Faye refused to look at Kian as she struggled to stop herself from blushing. After a few seconds of watching her and realising she looked like she was sucking on a sour lemon, he couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.

"We should keep going." Faye then suggested and walked off to her horse.

Smirking to himself, Kian followed and joined her in smoothly climbing onto his horse and they continued to ride across the open land ahead of them. They eventually made it onto the fields where the due projected a freshness through the wind that helped sooth them under the late-afternoon sunset. It seemed to be hotter than ever at this time, and so they both decided to take shelter under a over-hanging lip of a large mount in the sloping hillside of the meadows. It was like a huge wave made of grass, big enough to fit them and their horses.

"Faye, look at this." Kian called her from the grass.

Faye paused from her task of laying out a large blanket for them to sit on and wandered over to where he knelt to curiously join him. He was looking down at a hand-sized, blue mushroom with silver gills and when he brushed its cap with the tip of its finger it suddenly sucked itself down into the earth and disappeared from sight. Faye, blinking owlishly, looked at Kian to share her amazement with him and this brought another soft smile to his lips. He stood up and pointed to an area left of Faye and, turning, her eyes feasted upon a huge patch of the same mushrooms amidst the grass and immediately rushed over to them to begin brushing them with her hands. Kian was amazed at how eager this girl was to get involved with everything! Faye burst into laughter as she watched the mushrooms rapidly pop down into the earth in a ripple effect, as one mushroom set off the next, and the next, in a chain reaction.

"What are they scared of?" Faye asked Kian, standing in the grass.

Kian shrugged, "They must think you're going to eat them."

The wind blew down over the meadow and swirled around Faye, dragging up a cloud of fluffy daffodil seeds that danced around her as the air toyed with her long, ruby hair. Kian shook his head faintly to himself as he admired the naïve, often irritating, but beautiful girl in the wind. How had he not seen how perfect she was until now? Faye noticed the strange silence that had drawn over Kian but presumed it was down to tiredness and so she decided to leave the poor mushrooms alone and return to her spot beneath the grassy shelter. Their conversation didn't spark up again until later that evening, when they had lit a healthy fire just outside of their shelter and were nibbling on some bread supplied by the Wai-Wai.

"Look at that!" Faye suddenly whispered and pointed dramatically.

Kian looked up at once with the expectation of seeing something dangerous and spotted a flock of silver-back Pawkes gliding serenely across the starlit scenery. This was, of course, another piece of life that Faye had yet to learn about and she was so intrigued by the sight of them that she had propped herself up onto her knees like an eager meerkat.

"What are they?" She asked impatiently, bobbing her head in awe.

Kian snickered and stretched out one of his legs, "Pawkes. They're nocturnal. Their silver feathers in the moonlight attract the little bugs that they feed on."

Faye smiled tenderly, "They're beautiful."

The birds were probably as big as sharks and they owned long, pointed beaks and wispy tails that spread out like fans that had silken whips waving off of them. Under the moon, they were like floating banquet dishes that sparkled impressively for all their guests to feed off. It was the perfect trap.

"It's interesting, isn't it," Faye sighed, lowering back down slowly, "how animals have their own perfect way of surviving. Like a Chameleon that changes colour to suit its environment and trick their predators."

"It's the same for us." Kian shrugged as he flicked away a berry seed.

Faye's mouth twitched in disagreement, "Not really. Animals kill to live. But from what I've learnt, people _live_ to _kill_."

Kian looked over at her as she settled herself against the soft wall of grass behind her and folded her legs comfortably. She continued to stare across the fire and appreciate the large birds as they drifted in front of the large, circular moon and dance with the stars.

"Not all humans are like that, Faye." Kian objected pragmatically.

"I know," Faye nodded fairly, "but most are."

Her eyes suddenly dropped from the birds and onto the modest fire and Kian saw the excitement drain from her face to be replaced by the reminiscence of a sorrowful story in her mind. He realised she was actually talking about The Priestess.

"We'll reach Fennella by tomorrow, midday," Kian spoke carefully, in an air of sympathy, "and then you can put everything back the way it should be."

"Can I?" Faye snickered pessimistically.

Kian leant sideways and propped himself up with his elbow. He peered up at Faye until she finally felt his staring and looked over in question.

She lowered her brow, "What?"

"Do you trust me?" He strangely asked her.

"What kind of a question is that?" Faye sniggered, a little uncomfortable.

"A direct one," Kian picked at a diminutive patch of grass, "if I tell you that I believe you can do anything you set your heart on, would you trust me on it?"

Faye's eyes skipped across the ground as his question rolled in her head. Kian waited patiently, smiling vaguely, while watching her peculiar expressions as her mind ticked industriously.

"How could you know something like that, though?" She honestly asked him and looked at him with great intrigue.

"Because I've seen it in you. Your passion. Will-power. And you're pretty damn feisty when you have to be." Kian teased and smiled charmingly up at her.

Faye couldn't hold back a warm and allured smile as she gobbled up Kians' compliments. She had never been spoken to like that by anyone, probably because nobody other than her mother _really _knew what she was like, but even then her mother only saw her as the pure and passionate Priestess who spent her days in the Temples.

"The Queen will believe you," Kian nodded, turning serious again, "how could she not? Those eyes will tell her everything she needs to know."

Faye subconsciously lifted her hand and brushed the corner of her eye at feather-touch; Kian was staring straight into them in a deep, desirous manner now and Faye wished she could hear his thoughts at that very moment. Faye was actually falling in love with this man, minute by minute... The Pawkes started to sing softly in the sky, sounding like the soft whisper of whales in the deep ocean; it was beautiful and mysterious. It was as if Kian had sensed her wish, for he slowly sat up so that he was leaning into her and their faces were now just inches apart. Faye sat perfectly still as his impassioned and dark eyes intensely adored her face; she could smell his skin and her eyes threatened to close from the buzz as she felt the butterflies flutter inside her stomach. Kian brought his hand up, slowly and carefully, to delicately cup her chin in the crook of his thumb and forefinger.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever known." He whispered almost inaudibly, his voice holding hunger and compassion.

Faye's eyes revealed the feelings he wanted and gave him the confidence he needed to slowly lean in and place his lips preciously against hers. As they touched, Faye's eyes finally shut and she allowed herself to simply let go and indulge in the wonderful moment. Her first kiss. Her first trust – her first romance. His hand slid across her chin and upwards where he held her cheek affectionately and Faye's hands automatically danced with his lead and slid up to hold his arms. Their kiss deepened and, with no rush, their bodies moved in perfect unison as Faye lowered backwards and Kian moved down atop of her where their bodies coiled together, arms wrapping and legs linking.

For the first time in her life, Faye cleared her mind of any apprehension or questions and as her clothes were slowly peeled from her body and Kian kissed at her perfectly untouched areas of skin, she heard the Pawkes whispering out to them, as if it was meant to be. And under the starlit moon sky with the fire burning strong, the bandit and the runaway Priestess made love without a worry in their hearts. All they knew was that moment and the magic of each other's love.


	17. Happy to see me?

The sweet sound of birds tweeting graciously carried Faye into consciousness. She gave a happy little stretch and felt the warmth of Kians' naked body against her underneath their thick blanket and her heart fluttered again. She slowly opened her eyes and carefully propped herself up on her elbows to look over and smile at his gorgeous, sleeping body. He was on his back, chest bare, with the blanket only just covering his pelvis and his right arm curved above his head. He looked so peaceful when he slept. She reached out and lovingly stroked her hand down his chest, appreciating how he felt. Last night was incredible and she was never going to forget it.

Smiling to herself like a giddy child, she pushed back her thick curls of red with her arm and started to pull on some clothes while trying not to disturb him from his dreams. When she was decent, she stood up and stepped out into the beautiful morning light to lifted her hands high up and stretch merrily, greeting the world with a budding heart. But it was when she turned to admire the horizon that her smile crumbled and her heart exploded into her stomach like a ruthless bomb – it was Orvins' Circus! With a terrified gasp, Faye was unable to move at first as her fear rooted her to the earth. What were they to do?

She heard the sounds of shouting and saw five of the horses, riders on their backs, stray off from the trail of circus wagons and walkers and start galloping headfast, directly towards her. They had spotted them.

"Kian!" Faye cried in a panic.

She ran back into the shelter and crashed onto her knees where she shook him violently until he woke up in a sharp frenzy. He bolted up at once, grabbing her arms worriedly, and recognised the fear in her eyes.

"The Circus! It's Orvin! They're here!" She gasped in a clumsy rush as she trembled.

Kian looked past her and out into the meadow – the five horsemen were only minutes away. How could this have happened? It was just a terrible coincidence…

"Quick, grab the horses!" Kian commanded to Faye.

Nodding, Faye instantly set off to get the horses prepared while Kian hurriedly pulled on his trousers and shoes. He ran out into the open, shirt in hand, just as the horsemen arrived in their company – one of them was Orvin. Faye let out a silent yell and ran behind her horse, as if it would actually hide her.

"Well, well, well," Orvin chuckled sinisterly, "isn't this my lucky day!"

Kian stood, feet apart and fists clenched, as he watched his four old circus friends circle him and Faye on their horses tauntingly. Orvin dismounted his horse and picked his hands free of his gloves as he walked towards the horse which Faye was hiding behind; Kian saw him approaching her and made a protective run towards her, but two of his old friends had already jumped down from their horses and grabbed him by the shoulders in restraint.

"Let go of me!" Kian growled in a threatening tone, "don't you touch her!"

Orvin smirked at Kian as he passed him on his way to where Faye stood. Faye, upon seeing Orvin drawing close to her, attempted to make a quick escape by running out from behind the horse and towards the other, but she was suddenly snatched up by one of the other horsemen.

"No!" Faye screamed and bucked her legs up, "Get _off_ me!"

Kian struggled wildly, "Orvin, don't"-

Orvin came to a standstill before Faye as she wriggled and writhed in the grip of her captor; she stopped fighting against him, just for a moment, so that she could glare up into the eyes of the gigantic Orvin. She wished he would perish.

"We've travelled through day and night to catch up to you, my little starlet." Orvin cooed and reached out to stroke Faye's face.

Gritting her teeth in fury and disgust, she turned her head sideways as far as possible to avoid being touched by the filthy monster Orvin. Orvin just chuckled at her great attempts to avoid him.

"Not happy to see me?" He teased her.

Faye suddenly whipped her head around and chomped down on Orvins' finger, causing him to cry out in agony as her teeth crushed down into his bones. She finally released him before any blood could be drawn and when he swung his hand away, his eyes burnt with fury. He clutched the wrist of his throbbing hand and stared at her with wild eyes and flared nostrils.

"You little wench!" Orvin sneered, flicking his finger, "she's a feisty one, Kian. I'd love to know how you managed to tame her… I was beginning to worry about you, boy."

As Orvin turned to face Kian, Faye stopped struggling once more to look at them both in apprehension and confusion. What had he meant by that? Kian was shooting daggers at Orvin with his eyes and slowly shaking his head, as if trying to signal for him to stop talking.

"After you stopped sending notes, I thought you might have been killed," Orvin folded his arms as he smirked down at Kian's trembling anger, "but now I know you just betrayed me."

Faye's heart squeezed in suspicion, "What-… What are you talking about?"

"Orvin, you son of a bitch!" Kian barked at him and yanked wildly within the grips of his friends, "this isn't right!"

Orvin arched his eyebrow in amusement before turning to stroll back over to Faye, who was now so confounded by the change of her heart that she had forgotten all about her triumph to escape. Orvin stood before her, a sarcastically sympathetic frown in his eyes but a cruel smile twitching at his lips.

"Don't tell me you actually fell in love with this good-for-nothing?" Orvin asked Faye in a belittling tone.

Faye's brow creased in deep disturbance as she glared into his eyes of dissolution; Kian continued to struggle and demand that Orvin stopped talking, but it didn't change anything.

Orvin gasped in pretend shock, "Oh, you _have_… what a pity. Lilywren, if only you knew that all this time he was leading you straight into my arms again."

"Don't listen to him!" Kian shouted at Faye.

Faye's eyelids trembled as she fought with her mind and heart. She couldn't believe it… Kian had completely lied and betrayed her. He made her love him, to only trick her.

Faye slowly lifted her blank, miserable eyes from the ground as a tear skipped down her cheek and splashed onto the collar of her vest-shirt. Kian had never seen such heartache in those glorious eyes of hers before.

"You used me…" She heaved from the bottom of her heart.

Kian started shaking his head, "Faye, no…"

Orvin gave a belt of a laugh before waving his hands in the air superlatively, "Get them back to the wagons! We have a show to perform!"

Faye didn't even put up a fight as she was dragged over to her captors' horse. Her mind completely blanked out Kians' voice as he shouted her name, telling her to believe him. Her captor grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up into his horse, where Faye sat lifelessly with her head low and her eyes washed of any happiness and fire. They galloped back across the meadow to where Faye was reunited with the Circus family and thrown into the back of a wagon, formed with wooden bars much like a cage, which was filled with pots, pans and other equipment and Kian was trapped inside the belly of one in front of her. She crawled into the corner of the cage where she just leant back against the wall, her legs limply curled beneath her, and her numb hands sat in her lap. As the group started moving again, she listened to the rolling of the wheels and the pots clanging against the wooden bars.

"Faye!" Kian called to her from his wagon up ahead.

Faye exhaustedly lifted her head to stare up at him through the bars of his wagon to see him kneeling up and gripping them so tightly that his knuckles were white. His was was contorted in desperation and sadness. Faye just lifted her hand and yanked on the string that had been tied into a knot around a thin curtain which was pulled to one side of the bars; it unravelled, allowing the material to fall down and hide her away from Kians' eyes. She then pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them and burying her face within them. The pain in her heart was immense and all her fear and sorrow flooded back to her from the day she had seen her father lying bloody and dead on his Chamber floor. Kian had to listen to her tender sobs for the remainder of their journey with clenched fists and a furious mind. If only he could just reach her, wrap her up in his arms, kiss her and show her how much he cared for her…

Faye finally lifted her head from her arms after what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact just a couple of hours. The smell of the sea intoxicated her head and she could hear the seagulls singing in the breeze. The wagon came to a stop and she looked up to see the grand, stone walls of the Fennella Kingom, with the head of the palace poking over the tops of them. Her heart felt like it was about to mend itself when she realised they had brought her to the one place she had been determined to reach. Her mother was here, somewhere.

As Orvin spoke to the guards on the palace walls to obtain entry to Fennella, Faye managed to find herself a patterned scarf to wrap her hair up in and cover her head; she didn't want to risk anyone recognising her. It was a dangerous situation for her to be in, but if she acted carefully then she would have a finer chance of getting to her mother. The guards lowered down the gate and the Circus group slowly rolled over the moat and entered into the bustling city of Fennella. It was the day of the market and life was everywhere. Scents and colours dazzled Faye from the different stalls and excited children ran alongside her wagon to slap at the bars and cheer as a gesture of greetings. Faye flashed them gentle but ostensible smiles as she sat rigid in her cage.

The circus rolled on up through the sloping main street of the City, through the small houses and past the Holy Well where people washed their garments and children splashed each other joyously. They finally arrived in the Grand Courtyard and when Faye felt her wagon come to a jolting halt she leapt up onto her feet and rushed herself against the wooden bars, leaning her cheeks against them and gripping them in prayer; there, before her, stood the beautiful Fennella Palace, as clear as the blue sky. Her eyes fervidly searched the many different windows and balconies in an attempt to take a wild guess at where her mother's quarters may be. They would always be at the highest points of the palace, for safety. She was indulging in her search so passionately that she was unaware of the man who was unlocking the door of her wagon to drag her out.

"Get out." He grunted rudely.

Jumping slightly, Faye turned to face him and project a loathsome shadow onto him through her eyes. Faye had suddenly felt herself transform from a helpless, heartbroken damsel to a determined, spirited fighter. She was too close to curl up and cry herself into a defeat. She had to be strong, for the sake of her parents and her people. Faye obediently climbed out of the wagon and allowed the red-faced alcoholic to guide her around the wagon by gripping her upper arm superiorly. As she passed Kians' wagon, she sent him a hateful, sharp glance through his bars and saw him lift his head as he considered shouting out to her. He ran to the bars and called out her name, but Faye ignored him, her heart seeping, and she cast her eyes up to the Palace once more. Her story no longer involved a romance – it was pure vengeance.

Faye was forced, under Orvins' commandments, to remain with the animals under careful watch of one of his men, while the rest set about constructing the Circus tent. Other members of the travelling act proceeded to form their campsites and unpack their belongings. Faye wandered through the wheeled cages, while trying to ignore the man who was supposed to be guarding her, and bestowed loving eyes upon all of the poor creatures who were cramped inside their bars. She eventually found the two new additions to the Circus which Orvin must have bought, since she set free his previous two Lions. They were two Lionesses, who lay panting in separated confinements opposite each other.

"Hello…" Faye whispered to them both, emitting kindness and a depth of peace.

She slowly slipped her arm through the bars of one cage and the curious Lioness sniffed at her hand transiently before accepting her congeniality and rolling onto her back merrily; Faye sweetly massaged her chest and cheeks and she purred calmly. Faye paid the same amount of affection to the other Lioness, who persisted in rubbing her cheek and head against Faye's arm as way of expressing her happiness to meet her. The guard warding her couldn't help but watch in fascination as the fierce predators turned into kittens again at the sound of Ladywrens' voice.

"My friends…" Faye sighed sadly to them, "I promise to set you free. But first, I must need to ask of your help…"

The Lionesses both slowly sat up with their backs straight and their tails swishing concurrently. Faye smiled at them both and bowed her head elegantly, as an offering of her gratitude and respect. She then spotted Kian treading past through the cage bars, on the other side, carrying a wooden box filled with hammers and iron pins. He stared at her through the cage with harsh and desiderate eyes. Faye turned away at once and sighed while clenching her fists. How could he have done this to her? Was there no one in the world worthy of trusting? First, her own fiancé and her fathers' advisor who had been in the family since Faye was born, and now the man who Faye had learnt to actually love? Was everything that happened between them a complete lie? Did he even think she was beautiful? Had he just used her? Taken her virginity for the pleasure of it?

Anger snapped inside of her and Faye picked up a small sack of feed and launched it across the air so that it crashed into a collection of stacked wooden boxed and they tumbled to the floor in a mess. Breathing heavily, Faye took charge of her emotions and scolded herself for ever being so vulnerable. It would all end today.


	18. What we had was real

"And queue the curtains!" Orvin called out executively.

The two assistants heaved on the ropes and the yellow and red striped fabric reeled away to reveal Lilywren and the two Lionesses standing loyally either side of her. Faye lifted her head, her face blank or any emotion, to just stare out at the centre of the arena where the candle-driven spotlight shone. Orvin was standing on his dodecahedron trapeze platform with his arms wide open in a stance of anticipation for the invisible audience; instead, other members acting in the Circus performance sat around the ring in the stalls, waiting for the rehearsals to eventually finish. Kian was one of them, although he was standing at the back and out of any clear sight. He shifted distractedly when his eyes landed upon Faye.

"Well don't just stand there!" Orvin sighed impatiently at Faye, "walk!"

Faye inhaled a deep breath of shame before taking her first step. She kept her hands flicked outwards and at the level of the Lionesses' heads so that they could distinctly perceive her instructions. As she walked elegantly and slowly towards the middle of the arena, they followed, also stepping gracefully and cunningly as if they were stalking prey. She arrived in the centre of the ring where she performed a beautiful low curtsy with her arms stretching outwards like a pair of wings and the Lionesses faithfully followed her lead and crouched down onto their fronts. Even though the Circus crew had watched her act previously over the duration of nearly a week, they were still equally as amazed as they watched. No one muttered a word or even seemed to breathe. Faye was incredibly delicate and poised and the Lionesses' obedience was as similarly fragile to the point where everyone was anticipating the moment when it all went wrong. But Faye wouldn't allow that. Not yet, at least…

Kian rested his forearms against the railings of the stalls and leant forwards so that he could lower his head and peer under them, straight at Faye. He watched as his emotions festered and boiled and the urge to run into the Centre and grab her became almost uncontrollable. She didn't deserve to be out there. That sweet, wonderful spirit should have been roaming the fields or speaking with the ever-feared Wai-Wai thought to be mythical. She should have been gawking at Mountains or preaching about the goodness in the World. Not stuck here, flaunting her gift for greedy eyes. He saw, as Faye continued performing with ease, that she spotted Dwye sitting in the audience and recognised how she stiffened at once; Kian knew her well, and he understood that Dwye was making her as furious as it was for Kian himself to watch her suffer like this. Dwye sent her a devious little snicker and then winked.

Faye eventually had torn herself away from the spiteful distractions of Dwye and was now standing face-to-face with the Lioness, who was up on her hind legs with her giant paws resting on Fayes' shoulders. She was heavy and strong, but the Lioness knew to refrain from leaning her entire weight on Faye. Faye stared into her golden, beautiful eyes and felt the tears begin to swell in her own. It was terrible. The world was cruel and Faye couldn't understand it. Eventually, she couldn't ignore the burning inside herself and broke down into a quiet fit sobs, burying her face into the chest of the Lioness. Everyone watched, stunned, as she crumbled to the floor on her knees and the Lionesses both sat beside her and tried to sooth her agony by nudging and brushing her with their heads. Faye couldn't stop herself; she suddenly felt incredibly incapable of standing. Kian couldn't watch anymore and punched the metal railings of the seat above him before storming out of the Circus tent to let off some steam.

Orvin rolled his eyes apathetically, "Someone get her up, for god sakes…!"

Two of his assistants entered the arena and approached Faye cautiously, their eyes stalking the dangerous Lionesses warily, and when they were within inches of reaching her the two felines turned their heads and hissed warningly with their ears pulled backwards. Faye heard their alarm and instantly lifted her head to rest her hands on their backs and calm them.

"It's alright…" She sniffed, wiping her cheek on her shoulder.

She huffed to herself, closing her eyes shortly, to gather up her senses and stop blubbering like a weakling and then calmly rose to her full height to look back at the assistants. She covered up her mild break-down with a cocky smirk.

"I'd be careful. They don't like you." She snipped, eyeing them in disgust.

The man just swallowed and remained standing where they had stopped. Faye then turned her head to look up at Orvin on his marvellous stand and sent him an expression of determination. Of challenge and faith. She was never going to let him ruin her.

Orvin narrowed his eyes, "Take a breather."

His tone was filled with bitterness but Faye simply lifted her proud chin to reveal his ineffectiveness. She then briskly walked across the arena with the Lionesses trotting behind her and into the backstage area where she was able to remove her heavy headpiece and high heels. It was the most inconvenient costume.

"Faye." Kians' familiar voice called.

Faye turned around to see him walking towards her, an expression of struggle and guilt written across his gorgeous face. Faye stepped away from him immediately and held her hands up to place a confirmed distance between them.

"Don't." She stubbornly sneered at him.

Kian stopped walking but didn't retreat, "Let me explain"-

"There's nothing for you to explain!" Faye gasped at him, "your words are useless so save yourself the effort."

Faye spun on her heels with the intention to walk away from Kian but he snatched his arm out and grabbed her wrist lightly. Faye, aggravated, turned back to him and gave a tug of contest while staring at him in disbelief.

Kian pulled her towards him, "I didn't trick you, or lie to you – I meant every word I told you last night."

The Lionesses, standing behind Faye, hunched up their shoulders defensively and bared their jagged teeth at Kian as they hissed threateningly towards him. Faye knew that if she sent them a distress signal then they would attack. She had to remain calm. But Kian wasn't even bothered about the Lionesses and stared harshly into Fayes' eyes as if they weren't even there.

"I care about you…" Kian spoke in a soft but stern voice, "how can you believe Orvin? He's heartless, and I want to"-

"What – protect me?" Faye finished is sentence brusquely, "if anything you say is true… if you still say you care about me… then how can you just sit back and watch this?"

Faye looked down at herself in her ridiculous feathered, glittered leotard, her eyes glistening with more tears. Kian swallowed hard. Her equanimity had seemed to vanish.

Faye brought her icy eyes back up to his, "How can you sit out there and do _nothing_?"

"It's not as easy as that… I need a plan, Faye!" Kian attempted to justify his actions.

Faye finally tore her arm away, "Don't make excuses… I trusted you. I allowed myself to actually fall in _love _with you. And what a fool I am."

"**Don't say that**," Kian gritted his teeth angrily, "what we had was real."

"This?" Faye sniggered in amusement and looked around them, "you call this real? Kian, wake UP!... I thought you were different," Faye quickly wiped a tear as it skipped down her face, "but you're just like the rest of them."

Faye glanced at the Circus curtains and Kian just shook his head in desperation.

"_Stupid _and _selfish_," Faye spat emotionally, "performing your silly little acts to get yourself through the life you take for granted. And I wish I could forget all about you."

Faye's words cut through him more than he could have prepared for. Never in his life had he felt this way… No single person had ever held this kind of power over him. He hadn't wanted anything as much as this – not even money. Money was just an addiction, but Fay was real.

Faye and Kian were interrupted when Orvin marched into the enclosure of the tent and came straight over to her. The Lionesses had their backs up, at once, and were ready to defend her if necessary. Faye forced herself to look away from Kian and turn to greet Orvin.

"And what was that all about?" Orvin grunted as he kept his distance from the Lionesses, "since when did dramatics come into the show?"

"Since the day humanity left it," Faye bravely sneered at him, "these animals should be set free."

Orvin nearly choked on his entertainment, "And then the world can be at ease once again, is that it? Stop dreaming girl and get to work. And put those blasted cats back in their cages before I get them put down and replaced."

Faye was intimidated by his threat; it would have been a lot of hassle for Orvin to actually kill the Lionesses and then find two more to replace them, but Faye didn't doubt him. He was cruel enough. Faye looked down to the felines and, touching their heads, guiltily guided them back to their cages for their own sake. Kian watched her as she went and remained dumbstruck after their previous conversation.

"And what's gotten into you, eh?" Orvin huffed altiloquently and placed his hand on his hips, "strung up, too, are we?"

Kian clenched his fists into trembling balls; he so deeply wanted to punish Orvin for all his evil work, to hurt him and make him suffer just as Faye had… and that desire was all he needed – before Faye knew what had happened, Orvin's nose and lip were bleeding and Kian had been thrown across the room to crash onto a pile of crates and mess scattered across the floor. Orvin wiped some of the blood away with his sleeve and felt his pride shrink at the sight of so much blood; he turned in a fury and marched his way towards the messy array of equipment with only one desire of revenge set in his mind—

"Stop!" Faye gasped, jumping out in front of him.

She held her hands out in front of her, flat, to act as a pathetic barrier before Orvin. He stopped with his shoulders tense and his breathing heavy, not to mention his eyes burning dangerously.

"Step aside, girl," He growled venomously, "or I'll make you."

"If you hurt him again, I'll make every single animal in this Circus run riot. You know I can do it." Faye threatened him, eyes narrowed and honest.

Orvins' face twisted and scrunched as he battled with his lack of dominance in the situation. Several Circus members ran into the backstage area to see what all the ruckus was about and upon adding up Faye, the bloody Orvin and an almost unconscious Kian lying amongst the battered equipment they were able to deduce the circumstances. They stood and waited for their orders.

"Trust me, Orvin," Faye tilted her head challengingly, "if you want this Circus to turn into madness, just push past me… but you've been warned."

Orvin knew he didn't have a choice. He suddenly realised just how inferior he was up against a sweet little woman like Faye and, although he despised the fact, he knew he had to respect it before she realised it.

"Get him to a wagon," Orvin barked bitterly at his men, "lock the door after you."

The circus performers rushed over to where Kian lay on the floor and as they picked him up to wrap his arms over their shoulders he groaned faintly and finally opened his dizzy eyes. Frowning, Fay watched him be escorted out of her company and back into the arena towards his prison-to-be. Why had Faye done that? It was an impulsive act which meant that Faye still deeply cared for his safety. Her mixed feelings were beyond burdening… Why couldn't she just snap out of it and forget that she had ever made love to him? That wish was totally quixotic. She always knew that sex would be confusing.

"Satisfied?" Orvin sneered acrimoniously down at her.

Faye just gave a nod and then Orvin pulled himself away before the temptation to strike her became too great. Faye inhaled deeply. That was pretty intense… but the worst was to come, later that evening. She had to be perfectly prepared and set on her plan. It was make or break, for the last time.


	19. Here to help you

Orvin was totally oblivious to Faye's true identity and the reason for her pursuit of Fennella over the last few days. He had no logical reason to be exceptionally cautious of Faye's attempts at escape, because he wasn't aware of the importance of her escape. His ignorance was her complete benefit and tonight she would use it to her advantage.

"Lilywren – you're on in fifteen!" A woman whispered across the backstage area.

Faye waved her hand in the air as she bit down on her glittery arm-bands while hurriedly tending to her high-heels. She was standing behind a stack of sacks which concealed from the woman that Faye was actually swapping them for her comfortable travel boots. Once every performer had completed their act, they were hasty to leave the Circus tent and return to their evening pleasures. As Faye was the seventh act, the finale, she and a couple of prop assistants were the only people remaining backstage. It was the perfect opportunity. Faye rushed across the room with an idyllic vision of how her plan was going to play out; putting on the cloak she had hidden, she flipped up the hood and turned to the back exit.

"Lilywren!" The female assistant came bustling back, "seriously, what are yo"-

The woman stopped, stumped, to look around at the suspiciously quiet set and then spotted the two Lioness' were gone from their cages. Her chest filled with panic and she immediately rushed back out to spread the warning – Lilywren had escaped, yet again! As the gossip spread swiftly through the Circus campsite and excitement mixed with irritation filled the hearts of the performers, none of them suspected that she was over in the animals' section, freeing them of their cages. This was the night when she would make everything right – when she would use her gift to bring all this chaos to a halt.

Within the Palace's entrance hall, the walls were lined with guards who stood rigid and assertive with their spears in their hands and swords hanging from their hips. The room was lit by the gentle glow of candles and the silence was dull enough to kill. The men blinked at the walls, waiting for their laborious shift change, when they all flinched as something heavy knocked at the front doors. All of the soldiers ignored it, at first, but when a second alarming pound was cast at the doors and threatened to break the iron bolt across it they formed an immediate line of battle with their spears facing upwards diligently.

"Stand your ground!" One of the soldiers barked encouragingly.

As the door thudded and pulsed inwards with each blow, the soldiers flinched and anxiously shifted their feet as their imaginations created terrifying ideas of what was on the other side of them. It was when the next and final blow to the door caused them to violently break apart, crashing into the walls, that the guards were forced to leap aside to avoid being trampled; two energetic and enormous elephants screamed excitedly as they rushed inside the grand hall and made the soldiers part at once. They all stared up at the animals in complete amazement through the slits in their silver helmet. Why were there elephants in the Palace?

The elephants were soon followed by dozens of other animals – two lionesses, three monkeys, a large goat, a bear and a zebra and a flock of at least five different species of birds all charged into the hall like an army. The soldiers cried out and yelled in surprise as the animals started to back them into corners or pin them back against the walls; none of them actually attacked but continued to taunt the soldiers by growling, hissing or scraping their hooves as if ready to charge. It was perfect. Once all of the eight soldiers were restrained and unable to escape, the person responsible for all of this madness came swooping in with their cloak waving behind them and their arms pumping in rhythm with their fast feet.

"Who's that?" One of the guards exclaimed anxiously.

"H-hey!" Another shouted to the hooded intruder, "stop! Stop, I say!"

A bird swooped down from above and the man cried out as he ducked to avoid being pecked by its beak. By the time he looked back up, the mysterious invader had vanished from the hall – and there was nothing that any of the soldiers could do! Faye turned the first left and continued to race up the dark, candlelit passageway with only her memory to guide her in the correct direction. She had visited Fennella Palace when she was just a little girl, but once she turned thirteen and was subjected to a life of Prayer in the Temples of Luahth she hadn't been there since. Faye reached the spiralling, grand staircase made of marble and embarked on riding them like the wind – time was of the essence. The stairs led her up onto a second floor, a third floor, and eventually a fourth when she was beginning to suffer from the strain. Living in the Temples didn't exactly require much exercise…

"Uh…" Faye groaned, clinging onto the bannister, "this is harder than I thought…"

"You there!" A guards' alarming voice called from downstairs, "I order you to halt!"

Faye leant over the bannister and peered down to see a guard staring up at her through the spiral in the architecture. He was accompanied by at least two others. Sighing in exhaustion, Faye forced herself to keep running but the guards were easily catching up to her; they had much experience with this type of work! Faye was able to climb two more levels before one of the guards was close enough to grab her cloak and yank her towards him, causing her to spin and fall onto her bottom after tripping on her own feet. The guards gathered before her and pointed the tips of their spears at her neck.

"Reveal yourself!" One of them commanded rigorously, "now!"

Faye reluctantly reached up and pinched the rim of her hood. She didn't want to show them her face, for they would surely feel a greater desire to kill her! Faye kept her eyes closed as she pulled the hood away from her head and shared her identity with the three guards; she heard them gasp and felt the atmosphere turn freezing.

"The Priestess…" One of them uttered in shock.

Faye opened her eyes, "Yes… it is me… but please, you have to listen to me"-

They instantly returned to their unforgiving stances and moved the tips of their spears even closer to her face. Faye flinched fearfully. They evidently didn't trust her anymore.

"You murdered the King!" The middle guard stated furiously, "your own father!"

Faye's eyes flashed against him, "I did NOT!"

All of a sudden, something caused the guard on the right to lose all consciousness and his eyes roll into the back of his head. His body fell to the ground to reveal none other than Kian standing there with the hilt of his sword grasped above his head, his sword facing down his spine. The two remaining guards turned to fight him and within seconds Kian had them joining their ally on the ground, asleep.

"Kian…" Faye stared in surprise, "h-how did you get out?"

"I have my ways." Kian boasted and wiped his sweaty upper lip.

Just after Kian had spoken, the sound of heavy panting, gulping for air and grunting trailed its way up the stairway behind him until it arrived in the form of the chubby Gus and lanky Tevo who were also terribly out of breath and wondering why they had accepted such a challenging task. Those steps were beguiling!

"You said," Gus spoke in between breaths as he clung to the marble railings, "you only needed us to bring the key…"

"This is… much more!" Tevo added as he sat down on the top step to catch his strength.

Faye looked from the two familiar bandits and then to Kian with an arched eyebrow of mockery; Kian's 'ways' obviously involved the manipulation of his stupid friends. Kian just flashed an embarrassed little smile and shrugged.

"Well I'm here, aren't I?" He reminded her hopefully, "and using the animals – very clever, by the way. They've still got the guards on lock downstairs."

At first, Faye had been thrilled to see him come to her rescue, but the harshness of reality caved in on her happiness and her face emptied into annoyance. She impatiently climbed up onto her feet where she ripped her cloak and threw it aside to express her frustration.

"_Why_ are you here?" She snapped at him with an offended creased brow.

Kian shook his head and stepped forwards, "You know why… I'm here to help you."

"I don't _want_ your help," She rebuked in an emotional state and stepped back, "I don't want _anything _from you."

"You were about to get killed," Kian looked down at the sleeping guards, "I believe."

"I was _about _to explain to them that they have it all wrong!" Faye threw her hands up in exasperation, "I was _about _to get them on my side, until you had to show up with your heroic bravado!"

"Bravado?" Kian repeated in slight outrage, "what?"

"That's what everything is to you," Faye folded her arms authoritatively, "it's all one, big act for you, isn't it."

"Actually, I just wanted to help!" Kian leant forwards as his anger brewed, "some way of thanking me!"

At this point, Tevo and Gus were watching sheepishly from the stairway as the boggling couple barked arguments back at each other; the sexual tension between them was huge. But they obviously couldn't see it.

"What do I have to thank you for?" Faye gasped, "all you've done since the moment we met is mess things up for me! Lie, lie, lie and cheat – that's all you know, Kian!"

Kian was now seriously tantalised and ready for a full-blown row. He parted his lips and pointed at Faye as he was about to retort but the sudden shouting of alarmed voices sliced through their dispute like a knife. They both rushed to the stairway banister and peered down to see the shoulders of soldiers rushing up the spiralling levels and the sounds of their weapons chinking against their armour produced a frightening melody. Faye and Kian looked to each other right away as the same thought entered their minds; was Kian accompanying her for the rest of her mission?

"Come on then!" Faye growled with a roll of her eyes.

She jumped away from the banister and took flight upon the next episode of steps, Kian right on her tail. Tevo and Gus, however, took their gentle time in hoisting up their tired bodies to follow them. Faye's heart thudded wildly and whispered strong words of inspiration to her spirit – she had to hurry. There was no more time to be wasted on stopping, for anything.

"Stop! Halt!" The guards' voiced echoed up the staircase.

Faye was beginning to falter in her speed and so Kian took the responsibility of grabbing her hand to help pull her along with him. Faye wanted to reject his help for the pure purpose of sulking – but she realised there were more crucial things to care about. Her legs grew weak and she could feel her muscles trembling, begging her to stop and rest, but Kian didn't allow it. He kept tugging and squeezed her hand as if it would pass through his own energy onto her.

"Just a few more!" Kian shouted back to her in an attempt to be efficacious.

Faye pushed and pushed until, at last, she could see the top of the staircase – and Junyas. Junyas? The sight of him made her come to such a sudden stop that if Kian hadn't been holding her hand she would have gone tumbling backwards! As she abruptly mastered her balance she flew forwards onto her knees just at the top of the staircase with Kian standing beside her, staring at Junyas in a clueless state. He was able to perceive that whoever this man before him was obviously someone of importance to Faye.

"Faye…?" Junyas rhetorically asked in amazement.

Faye slowly stood back up and stared at him with mixed emotions. This was the man she had once doted on, leant on and admired – but now, he was the man who tried to destroy her. She didn't know what to say to him…


	20. You're done

Tevo and Gus finally arrived behind them and returned to their collapsed states over the railings, gulping for oxygen like starved fish.

"Who's that?" Tevo asked Gus, nudging towards Junyas.

Gus waved a dismissive hand, "Who knows…"

Kian decided to prove his dependableness by taking a protective and courageous step in front of Faye to partially hide her from Junyas' access. Junyas exchanged attentive glanced between him and Faye and, suddenly, understood what the relationship was between them.

"I didn't think you'd be foolish enough to come here." Junyas spoke softly although his voice was clearly straining back some jealousy.

Faye shook her head, breathless, "You thought wrong. Where is she?"

Junyas refused to answer her. He didn't seem to know what to do.

Kian lifted his sword in a form of blackmail, "Where is the Priestess and her mother?"

Junyas' perplexed eyebrows lifted in slight amusement and Faye froze nervously at hearing the question. Junyas was now completely informed of Kians' lack of knowledge and took pleasure in it. He released a small scoff of entertainment and pointed his sword briefly at Kian.

"He's a sharp one," He spoke, motioning to Kian, "got yourself a dimwit, did you?"

Kian looked to Junyas' sword like it was the dirt beneath his feet and sharply swatted it away with his own slender blade. The men instantly leapt into a battle stance and held each other's' fiery gaze.

"No!" Faye rushed past Kian to stand by them both, "no more fighting!"

"Do you want to tell him, or should I?" Junyas asked nervously as he cautiously watched Kian.

Kian returned the harsh glare, "What's he talking about, Faye?"

Tevo leant over to Gus, watching in awe, "Something tells me this is about to get interesting…"

Gus just nodded with his lips hanging agape. They were both watching on the 'edge of their step' in apprehension. Suddenly a handful of soldiers had arrived at the top of the steps behind them and, at seeing Junyas and Kian ready for a spar, they settled for restraining Tevo and Gus at sword point to ensure they would stay in sight.

"Your highness…" One of the soldiers called him to offer his help.

Junyas held up a hand of reassurance, "It's alright… I've got him."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Kian snapped irritably, "what does he mean, Faye?"

Faye opened her mouth to produce words, but they caught at the back of her throat. Why was this so difficult? Would he really shun her away just because of her name? After everything they had been through and after Faye had been so sour towards him lately, it was quite hypocritical of her to have lied to him about who she was…

Junyas shook his head at Kian, "Any time you're ready…"

That was all Kian needed to be thrown into a rage – he suddenly lunged himself at Junyas and the two men engaged in a harsh swordfight in the small hallway, dancing dexterously while slashing and slicing at each other's bodies.

"Kian!" Faye cried worriedly, "stop it, Junyas! Enough!"

The two men ignored her pleading cries as they knocked portraits from the walls and smashed the flower vase onto the floor and spilt out its contents across the floor. Faye watched as Kians' heavy foot squashed down upon the pretty white rose and mutilated its head… Everything beautiful was turning into darkness! Why? Why did everything have to be so cruel? Why couldn't people just live in harmony? Faye was forced to follow the two men down the hall and through an open doorway where they arrived in an empty study room filled with just one table and a bookshelf. The guards grabbed a hold of Gus and Tevo to keep track of the situation. Faye watched in horror from the doorway as their bodies shimmered under the glow of the bright moon at the window; she was, equally, as disappointed in mankind.

"Argh!" Kian gasped and leapt back against the wall.

His hand flew to his shoulder to a thin rip in his sleeve where a small dribble of blood came from the fresh wound. Junyas wiped some sweat from his brow and took a moment to catch his breath. This wasn't like him at all! Faye could see that he was scared and uncertain – Junyas was good, he was always good! So why was he being so cruel?

"Had enough, peasant?" Junyas provoked him anxiously.

Faye rushed towards them both, "Stop this, at once! There is no need for this! Junyas, what are you doing? Just stop this right now and we can sort this out!"

"Did you really think it was going to be that simple, Priestess?" A new, dark voice entered the room.

As Faye turned to see Zazell standing behind her, Kians' baffled but now cognizant eyes slowly lifted from his bloody hand and onto the back of her luscious red head. The name Zazell addressed her with made everything perfectly clear for him…

"_Priestess_?" Kian repeated to himself in a whisper.

Faye's eyes clouded with every single emotion, including ones she thought were impossible for her to discover. The hate oozed from her pupils so powerfully that Tevon and Gus were surprised he didn't combust!

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to arrive…" Zazell spoke in an uncomfortably serene voice.

Faye clenched her fists by her sides, "_You_…"

He smiled innocently, "Yes, me. Zazell. Heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Luahth."

"_Heir_?" Faye nearly vomited the word out.

"I assume you didn't come across the news on your travels?" Zazell twitched his head curiously, "surprising… I thought everyone would have been spreading it like the plague."

Faye continued to scowl poisonously at his large, aging face. Never had she wished for someone to die so much. She would usually have felt utterly ashamed at herself for such a desire, but not this time. Not now. Not with Zazell.

"Your mother and I are to be wed. Tomorrow, in fact." Zazell merrily informed her without a care in his eyes.

He stepped into the room and strolled peacefully over to the study desk that sat glowing in the white moonlight. Faye turned and followed him, unable to control her emotions.

"I don't believe you…" Faye growled through her teeth.

Zazell looked back at her and smiled pleasantly, "I care not what you believe. You're a murderer."

"How dare you!" Faye started marching towards him in powerful strides, "my father's blood is on _your _hands and _your _hands alone!"

Two soldiers ran into the room, past Tevo and Gus, and hurriedly restrained Faye by her shoulders and arms to prevent her from reaching Zazell; he hadn't even flinched. Kian was watching the scene play out before him with a stupefied, blank mask. He was totally lost.

Zazell giggled in Faye's face, "What a bold statement… Is that why you fled?"

"I"- Faye cut herself off, breathing like a beast, "I fled because I was scared!"

"Of course you did," Zazell chuckled and brushed the back of his hands on his linen cloak, "for your life. You know the punishment for mutiny. But murder?"

Zazell proceeded to 'tut' at Faye as if she were an eleven year old again. It was humiliating and the worst element was that everyone in the room was listening to it. Zazell was an amazing liar. He could own a crowed at the click of his fingers.

"I didn't murder my father…" Faye spoke from the bottom of her heart, "why? Why are you doing this?"

Tears trickled from her eyes as she leant towards him and splashed onto the front of his sandals to wet his toes. He didn't even blink.

"Junyas and I saw the blood on your hands – you were caught _standing _over his lifeless body!" Zazell laughed to the soldiers behind her, who chuckled in response, "give up, Priestess. You're done…"

Faye viciously spat in his face and started fighting madly in the grasp of her captors. She wanted more than anything to free herself and hurt him in any way possible, but they were too strong! Zazell's face stiffened pretentiously as he slowly lifted his hand to wipe aside the patch of saliva on his right eye and then peered down at it brashly. His hand then swiftly flew outwards and cracked a whipping sound as it slapped backwards against Faye's face! Kian, exploding with rage at seeing his action, took flight and charged towards him but Junyas was already wrestling him to the floor and confiscating his weapon. Kian was able to roll over and inflict a mighty head-but so that Junyas flew backwards in a dizzy spell, but two guards arrived to help. Kian was pinned to the floor on his front with his hands held behind his back; all he could do was watch Faye from afar as she endured the harsh stinging from Zazell's hand.

Faye lifted her head proudly to show Zazell the blood in the corner of her lips. Her tear-filled eyes still shot blades at him. She was never going to back down.

"You won't get away with this…" Faye muttered desolately, "whether it be in this life, or the next… Justice _will_ be served, Zazell."

Just for a speck of a moment, Faye swore she had recognised a streak of tension in those cold eyes of his, and Zazell knew she had. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose and pulled his hands behind his back to recompose himself before speaking.

"Take them to the dungeons. We shall announce their hanging at noon tomorrow." Zazell ordered nonchalantly.

He walked straight past Faye as her terrified eyes flickered at random places in the room, feeling as if the walls were closing in on her. Was this really it? Was this the end of her life, along with those of Kian, Gus and Tevo who had nothing to do with her?

"No!" Faye screamed, throwing her head back, "no!"

"Keep this decision to yourselves if you value your tongues," Zazell spoke tiredly, "the Queen and I shall have left for our Wedding by sunrise. I don't want her knowing a thing."

The soldiers brought Faye to face the doorway and forced her across the room while Kian was yanked up onto his feet as he also fought spiritedly against their dominance. Faye screamed and yelled, begging for them to stop, begging for her mother to come, begging for anyone to save them. She kicked her legs, swung her arms and tossed her head all the way down the thirteen flights of stairs and then down into the dark, dingy underground where her cell waited for her. An unoccupied soldier screeched open the rusty barred door and Faye was immediately launched inside and fell to the floor in a clumsy trip and even though she leapt back up in an instant to run for her escape, the door had already been slammed shut and locked.

"You've got it all wrong!" Faye sobbed to the soldier, "Zazell killed the King, not me! I wouldn't! Please, please, _listen _to me! Why won't you LISTEN?"

The soldiers slung Tevo, Gus and Kian in their own separate cells and locked the doors carelessly before strolling out of the smelly, filthy room and slamming the main door behind them. Faye was still gripping the bars and pressing her forehead between them in all her desperation. She couldn't believe it. No one would believe her…

"Faye…" Kians sympathetically called her, in a fragile tone.

Faye slowly brought her eyes of despair onto him as he stood opposite her, also clinging to the bars of his prison. He was watching her with a deep frown of guilt, sadness and frustration. He hated that he couldn't even hold her…

"I'm sorry…" Faye whispered, tears falling again, "this is all my fault."

"No," Kian pointed at her, "don't you dare. This is Zazell's fault, remember? The man who killed your father? _He's _the one responsible. This is his doing!"

Kian shook the bars violently in a sudden outburst of angst; Faye flinched, surprised by his passion. She sniffed pathetically and wiped the blood from her chin with her arm. Damn that Zazell. Faye had never been struck before by anyone, not even as a child. She slowly took solitude in lowering down onto the damp, concrete floor amongst a useless patch of straw and cradled her knees to her chin so that she could rock back and forth. Kian also decided to sit down, as it was all that he _could _do.

"Faye." He called her softly.

Faye looked up at him and waited for him to speak. He was watching her longingly.

He linked his fingers in frustration, "I'm sorry I didn't do anything, in the Circus. I was an idiot… But I didn't lie to you."

"I know." Faye smiled ever so weakly.

The dungeon then fell into a mournful silence as Faye, Kian and the two confused bandits drifted into their own reminiscing. What was going to become of them, now?


End file.
